When the Christmas and New Year holidays come, Hezbollah intends to dole out 1,000 food rations, alongside blankets, to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

According to a reliable source within the party, the decision to carry out this plan — which shall be officially announced in few days — was personally taken by the party’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah. Imdad Charity Association, which operates under the auspices of the party, will shell out these rations, each valued at $50, to Syrian refugees in Beirut, the West Bekaa valley and the south.

This initiative is not the first of its kind. During the holy month of Ramadan, Hezbollah distributed food packages to Syrian refugees in Beirut and the South, and the same scenario was repeated during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

On a deeper level, these initiatives reflect the need for Hezbollah to respond to media campaigns accusing the party of opposing the “popular movement” in Syria, and their need to play a political and logistical part in the regime’s quelling of the momentum for change, not solely through speeches but practically, on the ground, as well.