Hezbollah using civilian groups to secretly rebuild its presence on Israeli border

Hezbollah reportedly building foothold in southern Lebanon pilot zones, where IDF returned territory to the Lebanese military.

By World Israel News Staff

Hezbollah is using civilian organizations tied to the terror group to preserve its presence in areas of southern Lebanon vacated by Israeli forces, according to a new Israeli research report examining the implementation of the US-brokered Israel-Lebanon framework agreement.

The study, published Friday by the Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute, focuses on the Islamic Health Organization and the Wa Ta’awanu Association, two groups active in reconstruction, medical assistance and aid efforts in villages included in the agreement’s initial “pilot zones.”

The institute said the organizations are either directly subordinate to Hezbollah or closely affiliated with it, allowing the group to maintain personnel, logistical activity and influence in areas where its armed presence is supposed to be dismantled.

“Activity by the organizations in the pilot zone contradicts the framework agreement,” the institute said, arguing that their presence highlights the difficulties facing the Lebanese government as it attempts to remove Hezbollah’s infrastructure from the south.

Israel and Lebanon signed the US-mediated framework agreement on June 26 following months of direct negotiations. The deal calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon as the Lebanese Armed Forces assume control and non-state armed groups — principally Hezbollah — are disarmed and their military infrastructure dismantled.

The process began with designated pilot areas intended to test whether the arrangement could work before being expanded across southern Lebanon.

The first phase included Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, where Lebanese troops deployed and displaced residents began returning in July.

The new report alleges that Hezbollah-linked civilian bodies moved quickly into that space alongside returning residents.

The Islamic Health Organization, established in the 1980s, operates hospitals, clinics and emergency medical services across predominantly Shiite areas of Lebanon.

The Amit Institute says the organization is subordinate to Hezbollah’s Executive Council and has historically provided medical and logistical support to members of the group as well as civilian residents.

Its personnel have been active in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh following the Israeli withdrawal, including in efforts to search damaged areas and recover bodies.

The activities have received prominent coverage from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television network and public backing from Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which is headed by Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine, who is affiliated with Hezbollah.

The second organization highlighted in the report, Wa Ta’awanu, presents itself as a charitable association providing food, housing, medical assistance and reconstruction support to communities affected by the fighting.

Its connection to Hezbollah, however, has been acknowledged publicly by its own leadership.

At an event in January 2025, association head Afif Shouman said its work had begun under the “direct and foundational guidance” of then-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Shouman also said the association had expanded with substantial support from Hezbollah’s social-services apparatus and from Iranian organizations and donors.

More recently, Shouman told Al-Manar that serving what he called the “people of the resistance” was a fundamental part of the organization’s identity.

Wa Ta’awanu has supplied returning residents with food and medical assistance, helped clear debris and supported repairs in damaged southern villages.

The Amit Institute argues that such work gives Hezbollah a means of restoring its influence even when uniformed fighters and overt military installations are absent.

In Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, Wa Ta’awanu has reportedly conducted damage surveys, delivered temporary structures for residents and local officials and sent supply trucks into the village. Hezbollah-linked media outlets have extensively publicized the activity.

The Israeli report also says donations to the association have been routed through Al-Qard Al-Hassan, Hezbollah’s financial institution, which is under US sanctions.

The US Treasury has repeatedly described Al-Qard Al-Hassan as controlled by Hezbollah and has imposed additional sanctions on its senior officials and associated financial networks in recent years.

The findings come amid broader concerns that Hezbollah is attempting to reconstitute its network after suffering major losses during the fighting with Israel.

The US Treasury said earlier this month that Hezbollah continues to receive large sums through networks linking Lebanon, Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates and accused the group of using those funds to rebuild its capabilities.

The Lebanese army, meanwhile, faces legal and practical obstacles in searching private homes and civilian properties, creating what the Amit Institute says is an opportunity for Hezbollah to conceal activity behind ostensibly civilian institutions.

Hezbollah itself rejects the June agreement altogether.

Secretary-General Naim Qassem said Friday that the group was “against the framework agreement and call[s] for its downfall,” describing the deal as humiliating and rejecting both the pilot zones and demands that Hezbollah disarm.

“We will keep our heads high and we will not surrender,” Qassem said.