Lebanon/ Israel/ Hezbollah/ Al-Qard Al-Hassan/ Beirut airstrikes/ financial institution/ civilian casualties/ war escalation/ Newslooks/ BEIRUT/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Lebanon is assessing the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes that hit several Hezbollah-linked financial institutions, including Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches. The Israeli military claims these locations fund Hezbollah’s militant operations. Despite no casualties, extensive damage was reported in Beirut and other Hezbollah-dominated areas.
Israeli Strikes on Hezbollah’s Financial Network: Quick Looks
- Israeli airstrikes hit Hezbollah-linked financial institutions in southern Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa.
- Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches were targeted, a Hezbollah-run nonprofit accused of funding arms purchases.
- Extensive property damage, with a nine-story building flattened in Beirut, but no reported casualties.
- Lebanese civilians evacuated ahead of strikes following warnings from the Israeli military.
- The Israeli military claims Hezbollah stores millions of dollars at these branches.
- The nonprofit, which helps civilians, reassured customers their funds and valuables were moved to safety.
- U.S. calls for Israel to reduce strikes in civilian areas following high casualties.
- Israeli military apologizes for mistakenly killing three Lebanese soldiers during a strike.
Lebanon Evaluates Damage After Israeli Strikes on Hezbollah Banks
Deep Look:
Lebanon is grappling with the aftermath of a major wave of Israeli airstrikes that hit several Hezbollah-linked financial institutions overnight. On Monday, Lebanese citizens and officials began assessing the widespread damage caused by these strikes, which targeted almost a dozen branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a nonprofit organization tied to Hezbollah. The strikes hit southern neighborhoods of Beirut, parts of southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley, areas where Hezbollah maintains a strong presence.
The Israeli military launched these attacks as part of its ongoing effort to weaken Hezbollah, claiming that the targeted locations were being used to finance the group’s military operations. According to Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, these facilities were crucial for storing and distributing funds used by Hezbollah to purchase weapons and pay their fighters. He further suggested that Hezbollah had hundreds of millions of dollars stored across these branches, though no concrete evidence was provided to support this claim.
Despite the intensity of the strikes, no casualties were reported, as the Israeli military had issued evacuation warnings hours before launching the attacks. These warnings led to mass evacuations, with thousands of residents fleeing their homes and jamming streets across the capital city of Beirut. Local Lebanese media worked to clarify that the strikes would not target central parts of Beirut, calming fears after an incorrectly marked map suggested that Israel would hit a high-end shopping mall in the city’s upscale Verdun district. While the military did not strike that area, it did destroy several buildings in Hezbollah-dominated districts, including a nine-story structure housing one of the nonprofit’s branches.
On Monday, bulldozers were already on-site clearing debris from one of the strikes. Among the rubble, residents discovered personal belongings like clothes and furniture, as well as scattered documents from Al-Qard Al-Hassan. However, no significant sums of money or other valuables were found at the scene, as the organization had already evacuated its branches and relocated deposits to safer locations.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan is a registered nonprofit, heavily sanctioned by the United States and Saudi Arabia due to its financial ties to Hezbollah. It has, over the years, become a crucial alternative for many Lebanese citizens who have lost faith in the country’s conventional banking system, especially after the financial crisis of 2019. Its name, which translates to “the benevolent loan,” reflects its role in providing financial services to both Hezbollah operatives and civilians, many of whom are unaffiliated with the militant group but rely on the organization to access financial services in the absence of reliable state institutions.
Hezbollah has used the institution not only for financial gains but also as a way to cement its influence among Lebanon’s Shiite population. The organization’s efforts to support the population during Lebanon’s recent economic collapse have bolstered its support base, making Al-Qard Al-Hassan a central part of its network. Despite these ties to Hezbollah, many civilians rely on the organization for essential banking services, raising concerns about the broader impact of Israel’s strikes.
The strikes come amid a broader military campaign by Israel, which launched a ground invasion of Lebanon earlier this month. This escalation followed over a year of rising tensions, punctuated by Hezbollah’s cross-border rocket attacks, drone strikes, and missile launches. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensified after Palestinian militants from Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. Israel has since launched numerous airstrikes across Lebanon, forcing over a million people to flee their homes as large swaths of the country have been pummeled by repeated bombardments.
While the airstrikes have primarily targeted Hezbollah-affiliated areas, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently voiced concerns about the rising number of civilian casualties in Lebanon. He urged Israel to reduce the scale of its strikes, especially in densely populated areas like Beirut, where collateral damage has impacted civilians.
In a related incident, the Israeli military issued a formal apology on Sunday after accidentally killing three Lebanese army soldiers during a strike in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military explained that it had been targeting a vehicle in an area that Hezbollah had recently used for launching attacks, but it mistakenly hit a Lebanese army vehicle. The military stressed that it does not intend to target the Lebanese army and expressed regret over what it termed “unwanted circumstances.”
Lebanon’s army, although respected, lacks the power to challenge Hezbollah or effectively defend the country against Israel’s military incursions. As a result, it has largely remained on the sidelines during the current conflict, which has seen both Israel and Hezbollah engage in a series of retaliatory strikes over the past year.
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