Israeli warplanes have begun bombing branches of Al Qard Al Hassan, a financial institution affiliated with Hezbollah, local media reported.

The report confirmed that the branch of the financial institution in Chiyah in Beirut’s southern suburbs had been attacked, with no immediate casualties reported yet.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari threatened earlier that the army was preparing to launch attacks on multiple sites in Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut, to target buildings linked to Hezbollah’s financial network.

“We will strike a large number of targets soon,” Mr Hagari said at a press conference.

He added that the attacks are part of a raid on organisations involved in dealing with funds transferred by Iran to Hezbollah to support its activities.

Earlier in a post on the social media platform X, the Israeli military claimed that it was about to bomb “infrastructure belonging to the Al Qard Al Hassan Association” in an attempt to cut off Hezbollah’s financial sources.

It warned residents to stay “at least 500 meters” away from Al Qard Al Hassan locations “in the coming hours.”

The financial organisation operates primarily in Lebanon, with its headquarters located in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Since September 23, the Israeli army has been launching intensive airstrikes on Lebanon, particularly Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, in a sharp escalation with Hezbollah. 

(Xinhua/NAN)