Israel attacks branches of Hezbollah-linked finance group in Lebanon

Israel has carried out air strikes on a Lebanese financial institution linked to Hezbollah as it expanded the scope of its attacks in Lebanon.

Israeli strikes hit al-Qard Al-Hassan branches in the cities of Nabatieh and Tyre overnight, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Monday. The financial firm has more than 30 outlets across Lebanon.

There was no immediate comment from al-Qard Al-Hassan, Hezbollah or the Lebanese government.

The Israeli military said it had conducted a series of strikes against “dozens of facilities and sites” used by Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon, including on branches of the financial institution.

The ground outside the wrecked al-Qard Al-Hassan branch in the city of Tyre was strewn with rubble, shattered glass and scattered papers.

The strikes mark an expansion of Israel’s nearly month-long escalation with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

The Arabic language spokesman for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said the attacks targeted locations “used to store money for the military arm of Hezbollah,” including al-Qard al-Hassan, which finances arms purchases and is used to pay fighters.

He said Hezbollah stores hundreds of millions of dollars in the branches, without providing evidence, and that the strikes were aimed at preventing the group from rearming.

Hezbollah built its loyal support base in areas of Lebanon by providing protection, health, education and financial services in a state long-wracked by sectarianism and corruption.

Al-Qard al-Hassan offers microcredit in a country where the traditional banking system collapsed five years ago at the start of a crushing economic crisis.

It is sanctioned by the United States, which accuses Hezbollah of using it as a cover to mask the group’s financial activities and gain access to the international financial system.

Lebanon’s NNA reported that 11 strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, many of them targeting al-Qard al-Hassan. Other strikes hit branches in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley and in the country’s south.

The NNA also reported a strike near Beirut’s international airport, the main entry point of humanitarian assistance to the country and a major evacuation hub for those fleeing the conflict.

‘Very intense’ bombardment

According to the Israeli military, dozens of projectiles were launched across the border on Monday morning.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Sunday that the military was stepping up strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, destroying places the group “planned to use as launchpads for attacks against Israel”.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry meanwhile said on Monday that an Israeli air raid on the eastern city of Baalbek hit a building in a densely packed residential area, killing six people, including a child.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from the town of Hasbaiyya in southern Lebanon, said the bombardment in the area was “very intense”.

Khan reported eight Israeli air strikes along the southern Lebanon border region, including in the nearby Nabatieh governorate.

He said there was “a barrage of Hezbollah rockets” fired into northern Israel earlier on Monday.

“Hezbollah fighters are saying they downed an advanced drone, the Hermes 900. They’ve also attacked Israeli troops in Maroun al-Ras,” Khan said.

Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on October 30, while it has continued its deadly assault on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The conflict has put the United Nations peacekeeping force, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), on the front line, with the Blue Helmets accusing Israel of attacking their members multiple times in recent weeks.

UNIFIL said the Israeli army had on Sunday “deliberately” damaged one of its positions, the latest in a series of incidents reported by the force that have sparked international condemnation.

US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon on Monday to meet the country’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who is pushing for a ceasefire, and Hezbollah-allied Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is tasked with negotiating on behalf of the group.

His visit comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to make another push for a ceasefire when he heads to the Middle East on Monday, the US Department of State said.

Blinken will discuss with regional leaders the importance of ending the war in Gaza, ways to chart a post-conflict plan for the Palestinian enclave, and how to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the State Department said in a statement.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also said in Beirut that the Arab League’s priority was to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. He called for Israel to withdraw promptly from any Lebanese territories it had occupied or entered.

Aboul Gheit was also asked if Hezbollah could be destroyed, replying: “You cannot destroy an idea.”

Lebanese health authorities say more than 2,400 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets towards Israel in October of last year in what it said was an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have also forced more than 1.2 million people to flee their homes.