Sunday night’s airstrikes targeted nearly 30 Hezbollah-linked locations, including sites operated by Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH), a financial firm linked to Hezbollah.
On Monday, Israel announced that it has revealed intelligence stating that there is a hidden financial center for Hezbollah located under a hospital in Beirut. As per the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the underground shelter was holding a substantial amount of money and gold, said to be utilized for financing the organization’s activities.
This revelation came after a succession of focused airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force on Sunday evening, targeting the financial assets of Hezbollah. IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari gave a comprehensive update in a televised briefing, revealing, “This evening, I will release classified information about a location we did not attack, where Hezbollah has millions of dollars in gold and cash stored in Hassan Nasrallah’s underground hideout.” The shelter is situated directly beneath Al-Sahel Hospital in the center of Beirut
Hagari mentioned that the site had not been impacted so far, even though there were claims of considerable financial assets being present. It is believed that there is a minimum of $500 million in cash and gold kept in this underground vault, as per calculations. He mentioned that this money could have been and still can be utilized for the reconstruction of Lebanon.
The airstrikes on Sunday night focused on close to 30 locations affiliated with Hezbollah, which included facilities belonging to Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH), a financial institution connected to Hezbollah. Despite being a charity, AQAH has been accused by Israel and the United States of being a major financial supporter of Hezbollah, helping the group access money and gold for military activities.
STATEMENT FROM ISRAEL
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Hagari stated that a primary objective was a subterranean storageholding tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold, which purportedly financed attacks on Israel. Hagari did not confirm if all the funds were destroyed in the attack, but he mentioned that more airstrikes were likely, especially aimed at more financial centers.
The strikes came after Israel increased its attempts to disrupt Hezbollah’s funding. IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi stated that more than 300 strikes were conducted on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon within a 24-hour timeframe, targeting important financial and logistical centers.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan has been active in Lebanon since the 1980s, offering loans to Lebanese individuals in return for gold collateral. Although officially labeled as a charity, Israeli and US authorities claim that the organization plays a crucial role in Hezbollah’s financial operations, allowing them to disguise their illicit activities as legitimate banking services.
Hagari stated that Hezbollah primarily relies on the Lebanese people and the Iranian regime for its income. He claimed that the group used financial methods such as transferring cash through Syria and smuggling gold into Lebanon from Iran. According to IDF intelligence, Hezbollah operates factories in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Turkey that are reportedly used to generate significant income for the group’s terrorist activities.
In a similar development, Israel conducted an airstrike in Syria on Monday, aiming at the leader of Hezbollah’s financial department, named Unit 4400. The department manages the transfer of money from Iran to Hezbollah, mainly using money earned from Tehran’s oil exports. According to Hagari, the commander, who had not been named and had served for just a few weeks, was killed in the attack.
This is the second important killing of a Hezbollah financial figure in recent weeks. In the beginning of October, Mohammed Jafar Ksir, also called Sheikh Salah, the former leader of Hezbollah’s financial activities, was slain by Israeli troops. Ksir had been in charge of the group’s income sources for a long time, which have played a key role in its power in Lebanon’s military and politics.
The most recent Israeli actions occurred during an increase in tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, which began after Hezbollah carried out a series of attacks in support of Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks in 2023.
Israeli authorities believe around 2,000 Hezbollah fighters have died since the conflict escalated in late September 2023. Hezbollah responded with rocket strikes on Israeli cities and military sites, including a recent assault targeting an intelligence facility close to Tel Aviv.
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