IDF Warns South Beirut: Strikes Coming on Hezbollah's Al-Qard al-Hasan Financial Network

IDF spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued a warning to residents of south Beirut that Israeli forces would strike infrastructure belonging to the Al-Qard al-Hasan association 'in the coming hours.' Al-Qard al-Hasan is a Hezbollah-run financial institution that functions as a quasi-bank for the organisation: it provides interest-free loans to Hezbollah members and sympathisers, manages cash flows for fighters' salaries, and serves as a financial intermediary that allows Hezbollah to operate outside the formal banking system (which is subject to international sanctions). Adraee described it as 'a central element in financing the activity of the Hezbollah terror organization and harms the Lebanese economy in service of Iranian interests.' He reiterated the evacuation call for four major south Beirut neighbourhoods. Targeting Hezbollah's financial infrastructure represents a significant expansion of Israel's Lebanon campaign: rather than purely targeting military commanders, weapons depots, and launch sites, Israel is now attempting to destroy the economic ecosystem that sustains Hezbollah as an organisation. Al-Qard al-Hasan has 30+ branches across Lebanon. Destroying the headquarters and key branches would disrupt Hezbollah's ability to pay fighters and operate its social services network — a key source of its popular legitimacy in Shia communities.