Mikati says govt. to pay compensations to war-hit southerners

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has been quoted as saying that “the government is committed to paying compensations to those affected by the Israeli attacks on the south” and that “efforts are underway to secure the needed funds,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“The government will pay $20,000 to the family of every martyr and $40,000 for every fully-destroyed residential unit, while mechanisms will be devised for specifying the compensations for the partial damages that have affected homes, shops and public and private facilities,” the daily said.

According to unofficial statistics, more than 1,000 residential units have been fully destroyed since the beginning of the conflict while a large number of homes and civilian facilities have been damaged and agricultural crops have been burned.

“There are discussions with Speaker Nabih Berri regarding an initiative that the Lebanese Tobacco and Tombacs Authority would carry out in order to compensate the affected tobacco farmers in the border towns, especially in the towns of Rmeish, Aitaroun, Houla and Mays al-Jabal,” al-Akhbar added.

Since the war in Gaza erupted in October, there have been near-daily exchanges along the Lebanon-Israel border between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. At least 322 people have been killed in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah fighters but also 56 civilians. In Israel, at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed in the cross-border exchanges, the military says.

The fighting has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border and Israel has repeatedly warned that it might launch an operation against Hezbollah to secure its residents' return.