The IDF launched precision strikes on Sunday targeting dozens of Hezbollah command centers and financial facilities across Beirut and southern Lebanon. These sites were used to store and manage funds that financed terrorist operations against Israel. The primary targets were branches of the Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association, commonly known as "Hezbollah's Bank." The operation also included strikes near Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport where, according to foreign sources, Hezbollah maintains facilities for financial operations and weapons smuggling.
This assault on Al-Qard Al-Hasan's infrastructure signals a new phase in the IDF's hybrid warfare strategy against Hezbollah, combining tactical military strikes with efforts to dismantle the organization's financial network.
Breaking with standard protocol, the IDF spokesperson issued a detailed explanation alongside the routine civilian warning in Arabic: "Substantial portions of Hezbollah's terrorist activities are funded from Iran's state budget; these funds finance terrorist operations, including military buildup, weapons storage facilities, launch positions, and personnel salaries. These funds flow through Al-Qard Al-Hasan branches, which serve as the official front for the organization's terrorist assets. Given the association's role in financing Hezbollah's terrorist actions against Israel, therefore the IDF has decided to strike these terrorist infrastructures."
Founded in 1982, Al-Qard Al-Hasan began as a charitable organization offering interest-free loans to Lebanon's Shiite community. It has since grown into a financial network with 32 branches across Lebanon and the Middle East, operating a full banking service including deposits and loans – all without official Lebanese banking licenses. The institution gained particular traction among working-class Lebanese by accepting gold jewelry as loan collateral.
As Lebanon's economy crumbled, Al-Qard Al-Hasan's influence grew significantly. Research by Dr Emmanuel Ottolenghi, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), shows the bank's lending surged from $76 million in 2007 to nearly half a billion dollars by 2019. All this while the Lebanese pound was in free fall, the local banking system was collapsing, and Lebanon's population was sinking into depths of poverty and hardship.
This financial crisis catalyzed Hezbollah's rise to unprecedented political and social influence. The organization leveraged its unique position – a terrorist group with its own banking system, steady Iranian funding, and revenue from both legal and illegal global operations including drug trafficking, diamond trade, and used car sales. With stable reserves in gold and foreign currency, this enabled Hezbollah to finance not only terrorist operations but also to pay its operatives regularly and maintain a social network of hospitals, clinics, schools, and kindergartens serving the Shiite community. This strategy secured both popular support and territorial control across Lebanon.
A cyber breach four years ago exposed Al-Qard Al-Hasan's Iranian connections and revealed account details of 10,000 Hezbollah military operatives and 18,000 civilian members in various Lebanese banks.
The current strikes serve a dual purpose: beyond disrupting Hezbollah's financing and destabilizing its military operations, they aim to break the financial dependence of Lebanese citizens on the organization. It sends a message that Hezbollah is no longer the solution to their hardships – rather, those who tie their fate to Hezbollah's bank are risking their money's loss.
The timing of these strikes, coinciding with Special Envoy Amos Hochstein's visit to Lebanon, may create diplomatic opportunities. Hochstein is scheduled to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Lebanese Army Commander General Michel Aoun. Lebanese media reports indicate he brings a revised framework for implementing Resolution 1701, including new enforcement mechanisms.
