How is zakat paid on properties (house and land) located in the home country, given the current lack of surplus funds for zakat due to displacement, and can funds unjustly seized by strangers be considered part of zakat and forgiven to them?

If the properties are for personal use and not for trade, there is no zakat on them, based on the Prophet's (PBUH) saying: "There is no charity [zakat] on a Muslim for his slave or his horse." This indicates that personal-use assets are not subject to zakat. However, if they are intended for trade, then zakat is obligatory on their value once they reach the nisab (minimum threshold) and a hawl (one lunar year) has passed, at a rate of 2.5%. If access to these properties is difficult, scholars have differed: some say there is no zakat on them; some say zakat is paid for one year upon regaining possession; and some say zakat is paid for all past years upon regaining possession, which is the more cautious view. It is not permissible to count stolen or plundered money as part of zakat because there was no intention of zakat at the time of its loss, and because the recipients of such money may not be eligible for zakat. Zakat in this situation is not obligatory until the money is recovered and becomes accessible.