Hezbollah’s coping with COVID-19: A test case of the conduct of the mini-state established by Hezbollah in Lebanon

Overview

• According to data of the Lebanese Health Ministry (updated to March 30, 2020), there were 446 COVID-19 cases in Lebanon. The first two cases were two women who came back from a trip of 70 mothers of Hezbollah’s shaheeds that took place in Iran. Eleven of the patients died. Morbidity among the Shiite population in Lebanon was relatively low, possibly due to the high percentage of young people in Shiite society.
• On March 10, 2020, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced a national program to fight COVID-19 and started to implement it. Currently, the ministry’s policy focuses on an effort to contain the pandemic and prevent its spread, without taking drastic measures (such as imposing an overall lockdown on the residents). As is customary in Lebanon, the sectarian power centers also held their own activities, with the intention of preventing the spread of the virus in areas populated by sects affiliated with them. As part of these activities, they took several steps, including the opening of isolation centers in Shiite, Christian, Sunni and Druze areas.
• Hezbollah also formulated an independent program to fight COVID-19, focusing on the Shiite areas, and in doing so was no different from the other sectarian power centers. However, compared to the Christian, Sunni and Druze power centers, Hezbollah, which enjoys massive Iranian support and possesses an extensive military and social infrastructure, has far greater capabilities than the other sects comprising Lebanon’s society and politics.

Hezbollah’s program to fight COVID-19 was presented in detail by Hezbollah’s Executive Council Chairman Sayyid Hashem Safi al-Din (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020). To implement the program, Hezbollah made use of its extensive civilian infrastructure which has been built for decades, supported by volunteers in the fight against COVID-19. In addition, Hezbollah put its military infrastructure at the disposal of the fight against the virus.

    
Right: Hashem Safi al-Din during an interview in which he spoke in detail about Hezbollah’s program to cope with COVID-19. Left: The cover page of the program, which is called “Hezbollah’s Program to Fight against COVID-19: Social Resistance for a Homeland free of COVID-19” (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020)

• The basic assumption of Hezbollah’s program to fight against COVID-19 is that the pandemic will spread in Lebanon beyond the government health system’s ability to cope with it. The purpose of the program is to ease the pressure expected on the Lebanese health system and limit the spread of COVID-19 to the extent of a complete stop. The program is of a clear sectarian nature even though Hezbollah officials did not say so publicly, since it is implemented mainly in Shiite areas.
• To implement the program, Hezbollah has allocated many resources, once again demonstrating its organizational capabilities and extensive resources far overshadowing those of the other sects. To cope with COVID-19, Hezbollah allocated 1,500 doctors, 3,000 medics and nurses, 5,000 medical teams working in hospitals and clinics, and 15,000 field personnel divided into work teams in cities and towns. In addition, Hezbollah allocated military wing operatives, municipal workers, psychologists, volunteers, preachers and clerics (to assist in providing a religious response if the need arises). Hezbollah also placed its medical infrastructure (hospitals, laboratory, and ambulances) at the disposal of the fight against COVID-19, and set up 23 diagnostic centers.
• To run the campaign, Hezbollah set up an “operations room to manage the crisis.” The operations room handles professional committees taking care of various aspects of the fight against COVID-19: an expert committee for epidemics and viral diseases; committee for hospitals and isolation sites; committee to locate COVID-19 carriers and monitor those self-isolating; committee dealing with the inculcation of instructions in the population; committee dealing with the transportation of patients and disinfection; committee to guide social activity; committee to organize donation campaigns for food and money; awareness committee; and an education and culture committee, handling preachers and religious scholars, among others.

    
Right: Quote from Hassan Nasrallah’s speech: “We have to regard the health employees as if they are officers and soldiers in the front line.” In the background, a doctor’s gown turns into a uniform. Left: Illustration of a doctor taking off his gown revealing a uniform underneath, with a text reading, “Our real heroes; blessed be the medical staff” (Twitter, March 2020)

At this stage, it is still early to determine whether and to what extent Hezbollah will succeed in its program to limit the spread of COVID-19 among the Shiite population. However, there is already an indication of Hezbollah’s ability to mobilize extensive resources, reorganize quickly at a time of crisis, and adapt itself to changing situations. To that end, Hezbollah made quick and effective use of its civilian and military institutions which it had built among the Shiite population for decades, which constitute a mini-state of sorts.

The structure of the study

• Section 1: COVID-19 Morbidity in Lebanon
• Section 2: Lebanese government’s dealing with the spread of COVID-19
• Section 3: Preparations of the sectarian power centers to fight COVID-19
• Section 4: Hezbollah’s coping with COVID-19
  • Formulating a program to cope with COVID-19
  • Resources allocated by Hezbollah to implement the program
  • Designated committees responsible for implementing the program
  • Hezbollah’s donation campaigns
  • Participation of Hezbollah’s military wing
  • The battle for hearts and minds: Taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis for indoctrination among Hezbollah operatives and the Shiite public
• Section 5: Internal Lebanese criticism of Hezbollah’s independent activity in the fight against COVID-19

COVID-19 morbidity in Lebanon

According to the data of the Lebanon Health Ministry (updated to March 30, 2020 at noon), there were 446 COVID-19 cases in Lebanon. Eleven of the patients died. Partial data was published (March 27, 2020) as to the geographical spread of the people infected: 79 in Mount Lebanon; 11 in southern Lebanon; and 3 in the Bekaa Valley (Lebanese Health Ministry’s website, March 27, 2020).

• The Health Ministry’s data indicates that so far, there has been relatively low morbidity among the large Shiite population centers, with the possible exception of Beirut’s southern suburb (which is divided between the governorates of Beirut and Mount Lebanon). One of the reasons for that may be the relative large percentage of young people in Shiite society.
• According to a statement by the Lebanese Health Ministry, the first two COVID-19 cases in Lebanon were of women coming back from a religious visit to Iran (Anatolia, February 26, 2020). These women took part in a trip of 70 mothers of Hezbollah shaheeds who returned from Tehran after visiting the tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad. The group of mothers landed in Lebanon on February 24, 2020 (Facebook page of Hawraa Hejazi, the mother of the shaheed Mohammad Jawad Hejazi^[1], who participated in the visit and was on that flight, March 11, 2020).
• Hezbollah opponents in Lebanon and the West accused it of allowing people infected with COVID-19 and others suspected of being infected in Iran to enter Lebanon secretly, thus disrupting the Lebanese government’s efforts to prevent the spread of the virus (Iranian Al-Alam TV, March 16, 2020; Lebanon 24, March 23, 2020). In response to these accusations, the chairman of Hezbollah’s Executive Council Sayyid Hashem Safi al-Din granted an interview to Al-Manar TV, in which he specified the steps taken by Hezbollah upon the landing of the flight of the shaheeds’ mothers and other flights from Iran. According to him, Hezbollah was quick to form teams which got in touch with passengers arriving from Iran, a total of 1,200 people (college students, students of religious institutions in Qom, and pilgrims). Hezbollah’s teams, with the assistance of the Lebanese Health Ministry, made sure those people were tested and followed the instruction on self-isolation (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020).

Lebanese government’s dealing with the spread of COVID-19

• The Lebanese health minister is Dr. Hamad Hassan, a Shiite affiliated with Hezbollah. On March 10, 2020, the Health Ministry released the “National Program to Respond to COVID-19.” The program was divided into four stages, in accordance with the number of infected people. As part of the program, it was decided to form rapid response teams for laboratory tests and for managing the information in case the pandemic spreads (Lebanese Health Ministry’s website, March 10, 2020).
• Currently, Lebanon is at the third stage of implementing the program, whose purpose is to try to contain the spread of COVID-19. This stage includes medical supervision of the borders, including taking the temperature of incoming people and questioning them; ban on travel to countries where there is a COVID-19 outbreak; laboratory test for anyone suspected of being infected; and self-isolation of all verified patients. At the same time, the government prepares for the fourth stage by transferring required equipment (such as ventilators, monitors, and protective equipment for the staff) from private hospitals to state hospitals.
• At the fourth stage, which Lebanon hasn’t reached yet, all the borders of the country are expected to be closed and any case of respiratory symptoms will be considered COVID-19 infection until proved otherwise. At that stage, mild cases will be treated at home while severe cases will be admitted to state hospitals. When these are full, patients will be hospitalized also in private hospitals. In order to cope with the pandemic at the fourth stage, Lebanon will need assistance from institutions such as the International Red Cross (Lebanese Health Ministry’s website, March 10, 2020). As far as is known, the fourth stage does not include a complete lockdown, as resorted to by other countries.
• The following is an overview of the capabilities of the Lebanese health system (according to the Lebanese Health Ministry’s website, March 19, 2020):
  • At the end of the necessary preparation, state hospitals will have at their disposal 1,197 beds designated for COVID-19 patients. Most of the beds are intended for light and moderate cases, and only several dozen beds are intended for intensive care. A total of 386 beds are in the areas of Beirut and Mount Lebanon; 294 in northern Lebanon; 267 in southern Lebanon; and 250 in the Bekaa Valley. In addition, state hospitals will be able to use 57 ventilators, with the target of reaching a total of 165.
  • When the crisis escalates, the Lebanese Health Ministry will rely on the possibility of obtaining equipment and operating private hospitals in Lebanon. These are 10 hospitals, 8 of them in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, one in the Bekaa Valley, and one in northern Lebanon. The total number of beds intended for COVID-19 patients in these hospitals is 230. These hospitals have 220 ventilators for adults and 77 for children. The target to be reached for the private sector is 1,066 additional ventilators, 783 for adults and 283 for children.

Preparations of sectarian power centers to fight COVID-19

• Concurrently with the Lebanese government dealing with COVID-19, the sectarian power centers throughout Lebanon also prepared to provide their own response to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the areas under their control, in addition to the measures taken by the Lebanese government:
  • Hezbollah formulated and started to implement a program to fight COVID-19 in the areas populated by Shiites; the Amal Movement opened 25 isolation centers and medical centers in Shiite areas (see below).
  • The Free Patriotic Movement (affiliated with Michel Aoun) opened 19 isolation centers in the districts of Matn, Keserwan and Batroun, which are mostly populated by Christians. In addition, they started campaigns to raise money in Lebanon and abroad.
  • The Marada Movement (affiliated with the Frangieh clan) opened two isolation centers in the Zgharta and Al-Koura districts, where their supporters live, mainly Christian population.
  • The Progressive Socialist Party (affiliated with Walid Jumblatt) set up three isolation centers in Al-Chouf, Hasbaya and Aley, all of them Druze areas.
  • The Future Movement (affiliated with Saad Hariri) opened two isolation centers in the Akkar district, populated by Sunni Muslims.

As is customary in times of crisis in Lebanon, the sectarian power centers operate in areas populated by their own sect. In this respect Hezbollah is no different and it is now focusing its main efforts in areas where there is a Shiite population. The outstanding difference, compared to the Christian, Sunni and Druze power centers, are Hezbollah’s capabilities, which rely on robust civilian and military infrastructure and massive Iranian support, far exceeding those of the other sects.

Hezbollah’s dealing with COVID-19

Formulating a program to cope with COVID-19

• In the first stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Lebanon, Hezbollah’s approach was based on assisting Lebanon’s Health Ministry in the fight against COVID-19, while cooperating with the state. According to this approach, Hezbollah’s capabilities had to be placed at the disposal of the Lebanese state, without independent activity on the part of Hezbollah.
• This approach was expressed in Hassan Nasrallah’s speech on March 16, 2020, in which he discussed the spread of COVID-19 in the area at length. Nasrallah declared that “we in Hezbollah place all our resources and all our health and medical staff, including the people of resistance [i.e., Hezbollah operatives], our men and women, including the entire manpower, institutions and material resources, at the disposal of the Health Ministry, to run this campaign which they are running. Leading this campaign is the responsibility of the Lebanese government […] This is a campaign of a different kind, for which we do not have all the means. They are in the possession of the state. We [and other organizations] can be supporting elements” (Al-Manar TV, March 16, 2020).
• In the second stage, as COVID-19 spread and the seriousness of the threat became evident, Hezbollah formulated its own program to deal with COVID-19. Thus, it deviated from its previous policy and in practice took an independent action as the other sectarian power centers. This change was expressed in an interview granted by Chairman of Hezbollah’s Executive Council Sayyid Hashem Safi al-Din to Al-Manar TV. In the interview, he detailed the program formed by Hezbollah to deal with COVID-19, a program which it already started to implement (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020). The program is referred to as “Hezbollah’s Program to Fight COVID-19: Social Resistance for a Homeland Free of COVID-19.”

The threat which the Hezbollah program is based on is that dealing with the spread of the pandemic in Lebanon is beyond the ability of the Lebanese health system. The purpose of the program is to alleviate the pressure expected to plague the health system in case of an outbreak and, at the same time, limit the spread of the virus to the extent of a complete stop. The program includes, inter alia, maximum use of Hezbollah’s capabilities and resources, including operatives of the military wing and resources intended for use in times of war; use of volunteers and sharing the responsibility with [the Shiite] society; dealing with the social implications of the pandemic (for instance, by providing economic support to the needy and cooperating with medical entities which do not belong to Hezbollah).

• It seems that Hezbollah is well aware of the fact that its opponents will accuse it of trying to carry out the functions of the Lebanese state and undermining it. In response to such accusations, Safi al-Din raised the argument that Hezbollah’s activity was intended to complement the government’s activity, due to its weakness: “Our job is to work in harmony with the government mechanisms, and in no way to act instead of them. Does anyone have any doubt today that the relevant government ministries engaged in containment are in need of assistance?!” According to Safi al-Din, the very fact that Hezbollah formed a separate program does not indicate a lack of confidence in the Lebanese state but stems from Hezbollah’s wish to support Lebanon’s steadfastness (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020).

Resources allocated by Hezbollah for the implementation of the program

As an organization with extensive military and civilian infrastructure, enjoying massive Iranian support, Hezbollah could afford to allocate considerable resources to deal with COVID-19, much more than those allocated by the other power centers.

• Following are details on the resources, based on Safi al-Din’s interview:
• Hezbollah allocated to the program to fight COVID-19 an extensive scope of manpower: 1,500 doctors; 3,000 medics and nurses (including members of the military wing); 5,000 staff members of health services working in the medical centers and clinics. In addition, Hezbollah mobilized 15,000 staff members of “field services,” divided into work teams acting in towns and villages. These teams are the ones that will tell people suspected of being infected to be tested or will visit them if need be. Hezbollah also allocated social activists and municipal workers (of municipalities and local councils). In addition, Hezbollah allocated 100 volunteers and 40 psychotherapists from the Islamic Health Organization^[2], to provide psychological support to the population following the spread of COVID-19. Also, more than 450 preachers and religious scholars were recruited to assist in providing a religious response if the need arises.
• As part of the program, Hezbollah emptied all 86 beds at St. Georges Hospital owned by the Martyrs Foundation^[3] and turned it into a medical center designated for treating COVID-19 patients. In addition, in an extreme situation, Hezbollah intends to allocate additional four private hospitals owned by it. It also has one laboratory that will take part in the tests (even though Safi al-Din explicitly said that in this field, Hezbollah would rely on state and private hospitals as well as on private laboratories).
• Hezbollah started to prepare 17 public places to be used as sites of preventive isolation and patients’ isolation in case of an outbreak. In addition, 23 diagnostic centers are now being prepared. These centers will be manned by specialists who will initially screen those suspected of being infected. It should be noted that all the diagnostic centers set up so far or intended to be set up in the future are in southern Lebanon, an area where most of the population are Shiites (Rassed Network’s Facebook page, March 22-27, 2020; Janoubia, March 24, 2020; sajedsa32 Twitter account, March 24, 2020).

     

• To implement the program, so far Hezbollah has allocated 100 ambulances of the civil defense department of the Islamic Health Organization to carry people suspected of being infected as well as patients. In addition, 25 ambulances were equipped with resuscitation equipment and ventilators. Apart from that, engineers of Hezbollah’s military wing launched an effort to manufacture additional ventilators.

Designated committees responsible for implementing the program

In order to implement the program, Hezbollah set up an operations room to run the crisis. The designated committees are subordinate to this room, each tackling a different aspect of dealing with the virus. Each committee has several fields of activity (“portfolios”).

• Following are the main activities of the various committees (according to Hashem Safi al-Din’s speech):
  • The Technical-Professional Committee is composed of doctors who are expert on epidemics and viral diseases and represents a supreme professional authority in Hezbollah’s dealing with COVID-19. The committee will determine defense instructions, follow what is going on in the world, guide Hezbollah to act in accordance with protocols used by the Lebanese Health Ministry and the World Health Organization, and give its approval to the type of disinfectants used by Hezbollah.
  • The Medical Management Committee will manage the activity of all Hezbollah’s medical institutions in relation to coping with COVID-19. The committee will have several fields of activity (“portfolios”):
    • The Hospitals and Isolation Sites Portfolio: will operate to ease the burden on state hospitals, inter alia through the following steps: establishing field hospitals of the military wing to treat patients in mild condition; coordinating the transfer of medical staff from Hezbollah to service in the state hospitals as the need arises; preparing separate departments for COVID-19 patients in some of Hezbollah’s private hospitals; hiring unused private hospitals and putting them into use, especially for isolating patients; preparing public places to be used as isolation sites; providing the equipment necessary to cope with the virus; running workshops for focused training of doctors, nurses and medics on the subject of dealing with COVID-19, in advance of operating separate departments in Hezbollah’s hospitals or sending medical staff to the state hospitals.
    • Transportation and Disinfection Portfolio: Comprising civil defense activists in the Islamic Health Organization and medical staff of Hezbollah’s military wing. Its personnel will be engaged in the following three subjects: transporting patients and people suspected of being infected in a safe manner so as to prevent mass infection; disinfecting public places in villages and towns while collaborating with the municipalities and the residents, and preparing a plan for the burial of people who died of COVID-19.
    • Psychological Assistance Portfolio: Comprising volunteering academics and medical staff of Shifa Hospital of the Islamic Health Organization^[5] who will disseminate instructions on mental health in the current situation (for the general public, those suspected of being infected, the isolated people, families etc.) and will provide psychological assistance to the patients.
    • Pandemic Location Portfolio: Comprising activists of the Islamic Health Organization. Its role is to assist the Ministry of Health in curbing the spread of COVID-19, inter alia by the following steps: placing medical personnel at the border crossings and monitoring people suspected of being infected and sick people, starting with the airport and the Al-Masna border crossing (on the border between Syria and Lebanon)^[6]; establishing a data bank to include the diagnosed cases; establishing initial diagnostic centers that will admit people suspected of being infected and where initial screening will take place; and monitoring those self-isolating, making sure they follow the instructions.
    • Guiding and Instructions Portfolio: Comprising activists of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization. Its task is to assist in disseminating instructions on protecting from the virus, inter alia through the following steps: preparing leaflets, videos and other means of explanation and disseminating them; holding workshops for volunteers on protection procedures, treating patients, and first aid training. So far, these workshops have been attended by about 15,000 people, including residents of the Palestinian refugee camps; setting up a website and a call center, through which one can receive protection and treatment instructions.
  • Popular Management and Organization Committees: Their mission is to manage the social activity and disseminate medical instructions in society. They were established due to insufficient response to the instructions disseminated in the media. Safi al-Din described these committees as an “army of volunteers” found in evert town, village, and neighborhood. These volunteers operate in collaboration with the municipalities, local civilian committees, and other organizations such as the Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts^[7], the women’s organizations^[8], and the Education Mobilization^[9]. Their tasks include assistance for the medical teams (for example, by manning the diagnostic centers); enforcing social distancing and closing businesses; and the adaptation of Hezbollah’s routine activity to the updated procedures (public prayers,  funerals, condolence visits etc.).
  • Cooperation and Mutual Guarantee Committees: These committees assist those who suffered financially from the situation in Lebanon in light of the instructions on coping with COVID-19. They operate in all towns and villages, organizing donation campaigns of food and money (including opening of a special account to that end with Hezbollah’s Al-Qard al-Hasan foundation^[10]). They deal with organizing the donations and transferring them to the needy. According to Safi al-Din, donations so far amounted to LBP 3.5 billion (about $2.3 million).

    
Team in the southern Lebanon village of Al-Zrariya carrying out free deliveries to those who are self-isolating (Rassed Network’s Facebook page, March 26, 2020)

   
Gathering food for distribution to the needy in Abba, southern Lebanon (Rassed Network’s Facebook page, March 26, 2020). Photos of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, killed along with him, can be seen in the background, as well as the photo of Hassan Nasrallah.

• Media Committee: will accompany and provide media coverage to the Health Ministry’s measures concerning COVID-19; will disseminate protection instructions in interviews and videos; and will report about the development of the pandemic, the procedures taken, and the extent to which the public adheres to them.

    
Staff of the Islamic Health Organization’s clinics of Al-Ghaziya and Jabba (southern Lebanon) wearing protective equipment calling on the public to stay home in order to avoid infection (Rassed Network’s Facebook page, March 21, 2020)

    
Instructions to prevent COVID-19 infection published by the Al-Amana gas station network owned by Hezbollah’s Martyrs Foundation, under the title “Your health is a deposit [in Arabic, “Amana,” the gas station network name]” (Twitter account of the Al-Amana gas stations network, March 24, 2020)

• Culture and Education Committee: will address the cultural effort accompanying the fight against COVID-19 and handle preachers and religious scholars to provide religious responses as the need arises.
• Exiles and [overseas] Communities Committee: will take care of Lebanese residing abroad (in the ITIC’s assessment, Shiites) and examine whether Hezbollah can provide resources they require.

Hezbollah’s donation campaigns

• So far, Hezbollah has organized several donation campaigns for the fight against COVID-19:
• Civilian donation campaign of Hezbollah supporters, including Afif Shuman (who is extensively engaged in charitable activity also in normal times), entitled “Help one another”^[11]. As part of the campaign, the public is called on to donate food, blankets, clothes, shoes, medications, carpets and any other donation, which will be transferred to the needy. The campaign takes place only in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburb, two areas where the majority of the residents are Shiites (hashtag #help_one_another on Twitter, January 14 – March 27, 2020).

    
Right: Call on the public to donate to the campaign. Left: Packages with the campaign logo (“help one another”) on their way to the needy (hashtag #help_one_another on Twitter, January 14 – March 27, 2020)

• Sheikh Hussein Zayn al-Din, the deputy official in charge of Hezbollah’s Cultural Unit^[12], called on his Twitter account on anyone who owns an apartment, store etc. to waive the rent for March or postpone its collection until the tenants obtain the necessary sum (Sheikh Zayn al-Din’s Twitter account, March 15, 2020).
• Donation campaign of journalists and social media activists who are Hezbollah supporters, including Abbas Fneich of Al-Mayadeen TV^[13], entitled “Take the Initiative – a Civilian Campaign to Cope with COVID-19.” The campaign focuses on collecting donations of money and jewelry for buying food and distributing it to the needy (hashtag #take_the_intiative on Twitter, March 15-27, 2020).

   
Right: Logo of the “Take the initiative” donation campaign. Left: Food packages collected in the campaign on their way to the needy. The text on the packages reads, “In order for us not to lose those we love” (hashtag #take_the_initiative on Twitter, March 15-27, 2020)

• Hezbollah’s Al-Imdad charitable association launched a dedicated donation campaign of food and funds for 14,000 families without supporters (Al-Imdad charitable association’s Twitter account, March 23, 2020). According to Safi al-Din, even before the COVID-19 crisis, the association supported 16,000 families.

Participation of Hezbollah’s military wing

Throughout the interview, Safi al-Din mentions the military wing operatives and resources in connection with their joining forces with the program to fight COVID-19. He asserts that “We are now earmarking for this program some of the capabilities which we earmarked for times of war.” According to him, the fight against the virus was also prioritized for the military wing (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020). Hezbollah’s military wing participates, inter alia, in the allocation of medics to the program, establishment of field hospitals, development of ventilators, and assistance to the popular management and organization committees.

• Shortly before the interview with Safi al-Din, a video was posted on social media showing a man wearing protective equipment standing by the flags of Hezbollah and Lebanon and reading on Al-Manar TV’s microphone a “message from the combat medics in the Islamic resistance to his excellency the Secretary General, the leader, may Allah keep him,” which is actually a pledge of allegiance to Nasrallah and Iranian leader Khamenei, in the fight against COVID-19. Following is an excerpt:

“His excellency the Secretary General of Hezbollah: O the leader of resistance and its master, you commanded us in the past to stand on the hills of Jabal Safi, Mleeta and Bayader Saf al-Hawa – and we did! You commanded us to halt the army [i.e., the IDF] and beat death in the July War [i.e., the Second Lebanon War] – and we did! You commanded us to drive away the takfiris [i.e., jihadi organizations in Syria] to where they came from before they attack us – and we did! Today you are commanding us to fight against an enemy unknown in the past; a microscopic, deadly and silent entity that infiltrates into people’s hearts like the devil (“the withdrawing whisperer”^[14]). We will carry our equipment, roam the alleys and villages, neighborhoods and streets, disinfect buildings and houses until the danger is over and we know for certain that all our loved ones among our people and others are safe and sound, peaceful and calm. Peace be unto you, peace be unto you, peace be unto you! We are here, where you commanded us, ready and prepared, present in every battlefield^[15]. An oath by Allah, the one and only, the almighty: We pledge to you! (The audience replies: Khomeini!), we pledge allegiance to you! (The audience replies: Khamenei!), we swear by Allah! (The audience replies: We swear by Allah!) that we will keep our promise! (The audience replies: Ya Nasrallah!). Pray for Muhammad and his family (The audience replies: Allah, please pray for Muhammad and his family).”

The battle for hearts and minds: taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis for indoctrination among Hezbollah operatives and the Shiite public

• Since the beginning of the spread of COVID-19, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime have taken advantage of the crisis for indoctrination among Hezbollah operatives and the Shiite public. Hezbollah focuses on the dissemination of four main messages:
• Likening medical personnel to jihad fighters, to mobilize supporters to the campaign and win collaboration relatively easily, presenting the campaign against the virus as a “war effort.” Furthermore, Safi al-Din uses the term “general mobilization” to describe the activity of municipalities to enforce the instructions for coping with the virus (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020).

   
Right: Iranian illustration of a fighter in the Iran-Iraq war wearing a gas mask, holding a copy of the Quran, with Iranian medical staff passing underneath wearing protective equipment against COVID-19 (passing under a copy of the Quran is an Iranian custom, a traveler’s prayer of sorts) (Mohammad Ali’s Twitter account, February 27, 2020). Left: Iranian illustration of a medical staff member in the Iran-Iraq war changing into a medical staff member in the fight against COVID-19 (Twitter account of Mohammad Samaha, an employee of the Al-Amana gas station network owned by Hezbollah’s Martyrs Foundation, March 2020)

• The public’s participation in the effort. This message is in line with the policy outlined by Safi al-Din at the beginning of the interview, of having [Shiite] society share the responsibility: “We are called upon today to display our social power” (Al-Manar TV, March 25, 2020). This is also a constant message disseminated by Hezbollah over the last years, mainly in relation to the war in Syria.

    
Right: Hezbollah fighter holding a sign: “Greetings from the Men of Allah in Saraqeb [a town in the Idlib district in Syria] to the public of Islamic resistance. Please make sure to protect yourselves from COVID-19. Men of Allah, Saraqeb, March 17, 2020” (Facebook, March 2020). Left: Hezbollah supporter telling about her donation of 750 gloves, 130 masks and disinfectants, following Nasrallah’s call to support doctors and the people of the resistance (Fatima Ali’s Twitter account, March 13, 2020)

• Coexistence between Shiites and Christians in Lebanon. On the one hand, this is a constant message disseminated by Hezbollah over the last years (coming into expression, for example, in the dissemination of many photos of Hezbollah operatives in monasteries and churches liberated by Hezbollah from ISIS’s control in Syria); and on the other hand, spreading this message at the current time in particular is a fig leaf obfuscating the fact that most of the resources and efforts invested by Hezbollah to cope with COVID-19 are focused on the Shiite population.

• Solidarity of the “Axis of Resistance,” led by Iran, which goes across countries and peoples. This is a message that is increasingly catching on in the indoctrination of Hezbollah and the Axis of Resistance in general during the last two years. In normal times, it mainly comes into expression in solidarity events and donation campaigns (for instance, donation campaign in Lebanon for children who were victims of the war in Yemen). Messages these days are focused on the economic sanctions imposed by the US on Iran, making it difficult for Iran to cope with COVID-19.

    
Some of a series of posters disseminated on social media. Right: Illustration of the Iranian flag and a fist tearing off a barbed wire fence. The text reads, “In spite of the sanctions, you will be victorious. [A message] From the Lebanese people: You are able.” Left: Map of Iran. The Arabic text reads, “We are with you with our hearts and souls. [A message] from the Lebanese people: You are able” (Twitter, March 2020).

   

Internal Lebanese criticism of Hezbollah’s independent activity in the fight against COVID-19

• In the ITIC’s assessment, Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon regard Hezbollah’s coping with COVID-19 as yet another indication of the independent conduct of a “mini-state within a state” established by Hezbollah which enjoys many capabilities.” Following are several examples:
  • A Hezbollah opponent named Fares Kashan wrote the following on his Twitter account: “Hezbollah has 24,500 doctors, medics and providers of medical services. This number, which was revealed by Hashem Safi al-Din, brings us to apologize for formerly describing Hezbollah as a “state within a state.” The facts show, day after day, that it is a state of its own, at the expense of a republic that has been eaten, robbed, used up and collapsed” (Fares Kashan’s Twitter account, March 25, 2020).
  • The Janoubia website, owned by Ali Amin, a Shiite opponent of Hezbollah, claims that even in such hard days of coping with the virus, Hezbollah is exploiting its power to “strengthen its grip” in the south, in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley under a guise of a fight against COVID-19. According to the website, Safi al-Din’s interview conveys the message that “Hezbollah is still strong and able, overshadowing everybody, including the state.” Another message addressed to all the Lebanese is, “The economic and financial crisis, not to say collapse, will not have an adverse effect on the role and influence of Hezbollah. On the contrary – they bring it to a position in which it is able to fill the space of the helpless state, not only in military and security aspects but also in terms of medical assistance and rescue” (Janoubia, March 26-27, 2020).
  • Fares Sa’id, a senior figure in the March 14 Alliance and a former MP (apparently, on behalf of the Lebanese Forces), tweeted on March 26, “Sayyid Hashem Safi al-Din announced Hezbollah’s program to deal with COVID-19. A total of 24,500 medical personnel such as doctors and medics, 32 medical centers prepared as a reserve, 100 prepared ambulances. When explaining the program in the media, the Sayyid wished to calm its social environment and create the impression that the real state was in the Dahiya, Beirut’s southern suburb. Neither the “leaders” of Lebanon nor the state itself!” (Fares Sa’id’s Twitter account, March 26, 2020).
  • A Twitter user by the name of Jack El Cheikh tweeted on March 26, “Hashem Safi al-Din suggested a program to cope with the virus. My brother, who are you to force your suggestion on the Lebanese state?! You are just a party figure from one of the Lebanese parties, nothing more, nothing less. They receive the decision from Iran and force it on the Lebanese state, and the lame government follows this decision like sheep” (Jack El Cheikh Twitter account, March 26, 2020).
  • A Twitter user called MOSTAFAK tweeted on March 26, “On January 9, 2019, the Lebanese Doctors Union held elections. Hezbollah’s alliance, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Lebanese Phalanges Party and the National Dialogue Party, in a list called “The Union unites us” headed by the union’s head Sharaf Abu Sharaf, won the elections and the most senior candidate received 1,445 votes – Dr. Sharaf Abu Sharaf. If an alliance of five parties brought 1,445 votes, how could it be that yesterday, Sayyid Hashem Safi al-Din declared that he had 1,500 doctors who will participate in the campaign to fight against COVID-19?!” (MOSTAFAK Twitter account, March 26, 2020).

^[1] A Hezbollah operative from the village of Qabrikha, in southern Lebanon. He was killed in Syria in January 2016 in the Al-Ghab Plain, Idlib region. ↑
^[2] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from August 2019, “The Islamic Health Organization: Hezbollah institution providing health services to Hezbollah operatives and the Shiite population in general as a means for gaining influence and creating a Shiite mini-state within Lebanon” ↑
^[3] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from April 2019, “Hezbollah’s Martyrs Foundation: purpose, mode of operation and funding methods.” St. Georges is a hospital which was established in 2014 as an extension of the Al-Rasoul al-Azam Hospital (which is also owned by the Martyrs Foundation). It is located in Al-Hadath, a Shiite neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburb. This hospital has 86 beds, three operating rooms, 10 emergency rooms, an intensive care unit, an MRI department, a pediatric department, a hematology department and a lab test department (website of the Al-Rasoul al-Azam Hospital). ↑
^[4] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from October 2019, “Resistance society: Hezbollah’s municipal activity” ↑
^[5] A mental hospital established by the Islamic Health Organization in May 2019. It has 116 beds, an electroshock therapy department, laboratory, MRI department, pharmacy, emergency room, and rehabilitation and occupational therapy services (Al-Diyar, May 1, 2019; Jwayya local news website, May 1, 2019). ↑
^[6] According to Western media sources, as a routine, Hezbollah controls the border crossings and the Beirut airport and sea port, and uses them for its needs, including for smuggling weapons. Placing Hezbollah personnel at the crossings using the pretext of monitoring incoming passengers for the prevention of infection will enable it to maintain its control of them also in times of crisis. ↑
^[7] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from July 2019, “The Imam al-Mahdi Scouts Association: Hezbollah’s youth movement which indoctrinates youth with Iranian radical Shiite Islam and serves as a source of youngsters who join Hezbollah” ↑
^[8] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from August 2019, “Hezbollah’s Women’s Organizations Unit” ↑
^[9] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from July 2019, “Hezbollah’s Education Mobilization: An institution engaged in the indoctrination of Shiite students in Lebanon’s state and private educational systems, in preparation for their joining Hezbollah upon graduation” ↑
^[10] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from June 2019, “Hezbollah’s socioeconomic foundations: Al-Qard al-Hasan, a quasi-bank that provides interest-free loans, mainly to members of the Shiite community” ↑
^[11] The name comes from the Quran, Surat al-Ma’idah (5), 2: “[…] And help one another in righteousness and piety, but do not help one another in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty” (based on the Sahih International translation of the Quran). ↑
^[12] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from August 2019, “Art and culture used by Hezbollah as instruments of indoctrination” ↑
^[13] He was formerly an Al-Manar TV correspondent. See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from October 2019, “Hezbollah’s media empire” ↑
^[14] Name used for Satan in the Quran, Surat An-Nas (114), Verse 4. ↑
^[15] This is taken from a recurring text read by the announcer in Hezbollah’s events, before the beginning of Nasrallah’s speech: “Present in every battlefield, we will never leave arms, at your command, Nasrallah!” ↑

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