The Israel Defense Forces (IDF)has issued a statement on Monday morning, saying its air force targeted “dozens of facilities and sites used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to finance its terrorist activities”.
It says the Al-Qard Al-Hassan “directly funds Hezbollah’s terror activities, including the purchase weapons and payments to operatives in Hezbollah’s military wing”.
Before the strikes, the IDF says it took “numerous steps” to avoid harming civilians, “including advance warnings”.
The Israeli military says it hit “dozens” of buildings that housed branches of Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH) – a bank which they say is used by Hezbollah.
Set up in 1982 as a charitable foundation, the lender was officially registered in 1987 – its name means “The Good Loan” or “The Benevolent Loan”.
AQAH was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in 2007, due to alleged ties with Hezbollah. The US says it serves as a critical financial network for the group.
It operates outside traditional Western systems, allowing Lebanese people to get around restrictions imposed by local banks.
There are 34 branches for AQAH across Lebanon. As we’ve reported, Lebanese media say there 16 airstrikes on buildings with AQAH branches – most of them in southern Beirut.
