Dr. Noa Riven: Hezbollah brought the Nakba of southern Lebanon upon its own people

Dr. Noa Riven argues that Hezbollah brought a Nakba upon the Shia community in southern Lebanon through its military decisions, citing internal criticism from Sheikh Muhammad al-Hajj Hassan and Shia activists, as well as World Bank data on economic damage.

Dr. Noa Riven, a researcher specializing in Lebanon and Shia society, argues in an opinion piece that Hezbollah brought a "Nakba" upon the Shia community in southern Lebanon through its military decisions. The article describes how Hezbollah built its standing on a promise of protection, but after homes were destroyed and villages damaged, voices within the community are asking who the weapons were meant to protect against. According to the World Bank, the war between 2023 and 2024 caused physical damage and economic losses of about $14 billion, with rehabilitation needs estimated at $11 billion. Sheikh Muhammad al-Hajj Hassan, head of the "Free Shia Current," defined the situation in 2024 as a "real Nakba" and claimed that Hezbollah's weapons yielded "zero and nothing." In March 2026, Lebanon entered another campaign, and over a million people were displaced from their homes, many of them Shia. An anonymous Shia activist from the south wrote on X that Hezbollah chose to dig tunnels instead of building above ground. The article notes that the criticism does not indicate a collapse of support for Hezbollah, but the discourse is changing, and more Shia are asking what they are required to sacrifice for the organization to keep its weapons.