Israel to Launch Strikes on Hezbollah-Linked Financial Association in Lebanon

Tensions in the Middle East are set to escalate as the Israeli military prepares to launch imminent strikes on Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial association accused of financing Hezbollah’s operations in Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned people living near Al-Qard Al-Hassan offices to evacuate the area immediately, marking a significant expansion of Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed group.

According to Avichay Adraee, an IDF spokesman, Al-Qard Al-Hassan is "involved in financing Hezbollah’s terrorist operations against Israel." As a result, the IDF has decided to target this "terrorist infrastructure." The US-sanctioned association has been designated as a "terrorist" entity by Saudi Arabia and is linked to Hezbollah.

The IDF shared the locations of over a dozen buildings in Hezbollah’s strongholds in south Beirut and the Bekaa Valley region in Lebanon’s east. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, another Israeli military spokesman, warned that "we will attack numerous targets in the coming hours and more targets during the night." The strikes aim to degrade Hezbollah’s ability to fund its operations and pay salaries to militants.

Al-Qard Al-Hassan has been used by Iran-backed Hezbollah as a cover to mask financial activities and gain access to the international financial system, according to the US Treasury. A senior Israeli intelligence official described the firm as an integral component of Hezbollah’s financial network. The planned strikes not only aim to hurt Hezbollah financially but also to affect members of the Shiite Muslim community who use Al-Qard Al-Hassan’s financial services.

The main objective, as stated by the senior intelligence official, is to "affect the trust between Hezbollah and a lot of the Shiite community that uses this system." The official emphasized that Al-Qard Al-Hassan "don’t belong to the Lebanese state, they belong to Hezbollah." This development comes as Israel widens its focus on Lebanon after nearly a year of war against Hezbollah’s Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Last month, the Israeli military launched massive strikes on Hezbollah strongholds, including one on Beirut that killed the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, followed by the deployment of ground troops into southern Lebanon. The escalating tensions in the region are likely to have far-reaching consequences for the Middle East and the global community.