Israel Expands Lebanon Strikes To Banks Helping Hezbollah

Israel on Sunday night began fresh, heavy airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs as well as in the Bekka Valley in the east of Lebanon, for the first time declaring it would target banks suspected of financing Hezbollah.

“The air force will launch extensive strikes on targets in the southern suburb of Beirut, targeting Hezbollah-linked economic assets,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said as strikes were underway. Buildings that belong to al-Qard al-Hassan Association are at the top of the list, identified by the Israelis as long associated with the Shia paramilitary group backed by Iran.

With at least 30 branches across Lebanon, and 15 Beirut locations in bustling neighborhood, al-Qard al-Hassan Association is also used by many Lebanese civilians.

The US-sanctioned bank has been around since the 1980’s and is focused on providing services to Lebanon’s Shiite community, which is mostly concentrated in the south.

“The purpose of the strike is to target the ability of Hezbollah to function both during the war but also afterwards to rebuild and to rearm the organization on the day after,” an Israeli military statement continued.

Some dozen large airstrikes rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs last night, including one or more which were very near Beirut International Airport, reportedly targeting the bank branches.

The bank has sought to assure its customers it has taken “all of the necessary procedures since the beginning of the war to safeguard your deposits and valuables and can confirm that you should not worry they are safe.”

A regional analyst was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as follows:

“The main loss for the people using its services will be the destruction of family gold they pawned in exchange for loans,” said Lina Khatib, director of the SOAS Middle East Institute and author of a study of Hezbollah’s influence networks.

“But for as long as Hezbollah’s external financial operations remain active, including its involvement in illicit finance internationally, and as long as Iran continues to fund it, Al-Qard Al-Hassan’s clients will expect Hezbollah to be able to compensate them for their losses,” she said.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said over the weekend that at least 2,464 Lebanese have been killed since hostilities began in Oct.2023; however, it remains unclear how many of that figure are combatants vs. civilians.

BEIRUT: Surreal video after Israeli bombardment near Beirut international airport without air, tarmac traffic being halted. 20 days into #Lebanon war and unclear how this ends: pic.twitter.com/QxPXIRFady

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) October 21, 2024

The whole region remains on edge awaiting Israel’s retaliation against Iran, which US intelligence has said is “almost certainly” going to happen. A Bloomberg note indicates:

Oil prices bounce back from last week’s steep fall with Brent crude futures climbing 1.3% to around $74 a barrel. Traders are likely monitoring tensions in the Middle East after Israeli PM Netanyahu held a series of meetings with top security aides to discuss the next attack on Iran. Israel is discussing its attack on Iran after a Hezbollah drone exploded near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home at the weekend.

Below are more regional developments via Newsquawk…

• Israeli PM Netanyahu said a drone attack which targeted his home in northern Israel was a “grave mistake”, while he and his family were not at their house when the drone attack struck on Saturday and there were no casualties.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu spoke with former US President Trump and told him that Israel considers the issues the US administration raises but will make decisions based on its national interests.
• Israel’s military said it attacked Hezbollah’s intelligence HQ and weapons storage facilities in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Saturday. It was also reported that Israel conducted a fresh raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday, as well as targeted the city of Tyre and the towns of Bir al-Salasil and Homine al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon.
• Israeli military spokesperson had warned on Sunday that they would conduct targeted strikes on sites belonging to Hezbollah’s financial arm across Lebanon and urged Lebanese residents to evacuate areas near those facilities, while it was later reported that Israeli strikes hit branches of Hezbollah-linked bank in Beirut and Beqaa Valley, according to Times of Israel.
• Hezbollah announced it conducted a rocket barrage at Beit Hillel base, while it was separately reported that Iraqi armed factions announced the targeting of an Israeli military site in the Golan with drones.
• Israel gave the White House its demands for ending the war in Lebanon, while US President Biden’s envoy Amos Hochstein will visit Beirut on Monday to discuss a possible diplomatic solution with Lebanese officials, according to Axios. The report noted one Israeli demand is that IDF be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” to ensure Hezbollah doesn’t rearm and Israel also demands its air force have freedom of operation in Lebanese airspace, although a US official said it is highly unlikely Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel’s conditions.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader said Hamas leader Sinwar’s death will not halt the axis of resistance and Hamas will live on.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi alluded to the US and warned that anyone who knows how and when Israel will attack Iran will be held accountable, according to Reuters.
• US House Speaker Johnson said on Sunday that there would be a classified briefing related to leaked US intelligence on Israel-Iran, according to Reuters.
• US Defence Secretary Austin said he would like to see Israel scale back on some of its strikes in and around Beirut, while he raised the issue about UNIFIL security with Israel’s Defence Minister Gallant. Furthermore, Austin reviewed the US defence posture and said he is relieved that PM Netanyahu is safe, while he said he couldn’t confirm reports that North Korean troops are in Russia and readying for combat in the Ukraine war, according to Reuters.
• UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said an Israeli army bulldozer demolished a watchtower and fence surrounding the UN site in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to Reuters.
• G7 defence ministers reaffirmed the importance of supporting UNIFIL and the Lebanese armed forces in their role of ensuring the stability and security of Lebanon, while they called on Iran to refrain from providing support to Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and other non-state actors. Furthermore, they called on Houthis to immediately cease their escalatory measures that increase regional instability and immediately release the vessel Galaxy Leader and its crew.