Israeli forces hit more than two dozen targets belonging to Al-Qard al-Hassan – a financial firm linked to Hezbollah on Monday – in an expanded campaign against the Iran-backed group in Lebanon.
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Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam on October 21, 2024. Image- AFP
In a widening air campaign, the Israeli military has carried out a wave of airstrikes targeting branches of a financial institution affiliated with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, saying the quasi-banking system is being used to fund the terrorist group’s military wing.
Continuing the strike on Hezbollah’s financial operations, the IDF on Monday struck about 300 targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, “Approximately 300 targets were hit in the last 24 hours alone,” the military said in a statement after military chief Herzi Halevi said around 30 targets related to Al-Qard al-Hassan, a financial firm linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The strikes destroyed more than a dozen branches of al-Qard al-Hasan across Lebanon Sunday night, and came two weeks after an airstrike killed the man who many referred to as Hezbollah’s “finance minister.”
“We struck close to 30 targets across Lebanon,” Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement after strikes began Sunday night against the US-sanctioned association that Israel accuses of financing “Hezbollah’s terrorist operations”.
Israel has intensified its campaigns both in Gaza and Lebanon after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week had raised hopes of an opening for ceasefire talks to end more than a year of conflict.
What is al-Qard al-Hasan and who benefits from it?
Al-Qard al-Hasan is officially a non-profit charity institution operating outside the Lebanese financial system and one of the tools by which Hezbollah entrenches its support among the country’s Shiite population.
In addition to its military wing, Hezbollah has branches that run schools, hospitals, low-price grocery stores, as well as al-Qard al-Hasan,