Israel launched a series of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley early on Monday.
At least 10 airstrikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs, an entire building collapsed and a fire plane flew through the air in the Siyah neighborhood of Greater Beirut. A building near Lebanon's only commercial airport was also hit, and video footage showed plumes of smoke billowing from a nearby plane while it was on the tarmac.
“They attacked empty buildings in residential neighborhoods and destroyed surrounding neighborhoods. These are not military bases or weapons depots,” said Man Khalil, mayor of the Khoberi municipality in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Israel issued several warnings through . The streets of the affected areas were soon jammed with traffic as people left in anticipation of the strikes.
Al-Kard Al-Hasan has branches throughout Lebanon, with 15 branches in Beirut alone.
The attacks were part of what Israel said were efforts to disrupt Hezbollah's financial system. The Israeli military said Sunday night that al-Khart al-Hassan financed Hezbollah and “uses this money to finance his terrorist activities,” including the purchase and storage of weapons.
The announcement that Israel will begin attacking the bank, part of Hezbollah's civilian businesses, marks an expansion of the scope of Israel's targets beyond the group's military wing.
The agency was sanctioned by the United States during the Trump administration in 2017 for providing Hezbollah access to the International Financial System, according to the US Treasury.
Al-Khart al-Hasan was founded as a charity in the early 1980s and is part of Hezbollah's robust social services network.
The banking institution became more popular after Lebanon's 2019 financial crisis, when commercial banks froze almost all accounts and stopped lending altogether. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, mainly Shiite Muslims, bank with al-Qard al-Hasan, many of whom donate family assets such as gold to the bank in exchange for loans.
Although al-Khart al-Hasan is not the main way Hezbollah manages its social network's finances, the potential loss of the company would be a “significant blow,” according to Lina Khatib, director of the Sos Middle East Institute. .
“If this gold is destroyed, Hezbollah members hope to be able to compensate for their losses. “For now, Hezbollah's voters have suffered heavy losses, but the level of trust in the group remains high,” Khatib said.
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After the attacks, Hezbollah announced that it had fired rockets at groups of Israeli soldiers in al-Malaqiyya and Markaba, southern Lebanon. Heavy fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah fighters continued from Sunday into Monday morning as Israel continued its cross-border incursions into southern Lebanon.
Israel has said it is attempting to degrade and destroy Hezbollah's infrastructure and capabilities along the border. Their progress is unclear, as border areas are largely unpopulated and media access is limited.
US Ambassador Amos Hochstein is scheduled to return to Beirut on Monday morning to meet with the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, and the country's interim prime minister, Najib Mikati. Perry is negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, as the United States does not have diplomatic relations with the group it classifies as a terrorist organization.
A UN order to withdraw Hezbollah is located north of the Litani River, about 18 miles from the Blue Line that separates Lebanon and Israel. Hochstein is expected to push for the full implementation of Security Council resolutions 1701 and 1559.
Hezbollah has previously denied being de facto expelled from the border, but the group's unprecedented losses are said to have softened its stance in demanding a ceasefire with Israel. Almost all of its top military commanders and its former secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, have been assassinated by Israel in the last three months.
More than 2,400 people have been killed and more than 11,530 injured in Lebanon since the war in Gaza began in October last year.
