Hundreds of Beirut residents fled their homes late on Sunday after Israel said it was preparing attacks on sites linked to the financial operations of Lebanon's Hezbollah group within hours and told people to leave those areas immediately.
Al-Qard al-Hassan has more than 30 branches across Lebanon © OLJ
Hundreds of Beirut residents fled their homes late on Sunday after Israel said it was preparing attacks on sites linked to the financial operations of Lebanon's Hezbollah group within hours and told people to leave those areas immediately.
Soon after the Israeli warning, several blasts were heard and a large fire was seen in Beirut's southern suburbs. There was no immediate information on what caused the explosion, or details of any casualties.
Panicked crowds clogged the streets and caused traffic jams in some parts of Beirut as they tried to get to neighbourhoods thought to be safer, witnesses said.
"Residents of Lebanon, the IDF (Israeli military) will begin attacking infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association - get away from it immediately," the military's spokesperson said in a statement on X.
Al-Qard al-Hassan - which the U.S. has said is used by Iran-backed Hezbollah to manage its finances - has more than 30 branches across Lebanon including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs.
There was no immediate statement from the organisation, Hezbollah or the Lebanese government.
Asked by journalists whether the branches could be considered military targets, a senior Israeli intelligence official said: "The purpose of this strike is to target the ability of Hezbollah economic function both during the war but also afterwards to rebuild and to rearm ...on the day after."
By Amina Ismail and Nidal al-Mughrabi
Hezbollah has stashed hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold in a bunker built under a hospital in Beirut, Israel's military said on Monday, adding it will not strike the facility as it keeps up attacks against the group's financial assets.
Israel's security services have broken up a spy ring that was gathering information on behalf of Iranian intelligence in the latest attempt by Tehran to recruit Israelis for espionage, the Shin Bet and police said on Monday.
Iran has written to the U.N. nuclear watchdog to complain about Israel's threats against its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday at a weekly news conference.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.