Israeli airstrikes target Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches across Lebanon | US envoy Amos Hochstein to seek ceasefire in Beirut

In overnight air raids, Israel launched missiles at over 10 customer service branches in different areas of Lebanon belonging to Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial services association affiliated with Hezbollah. 

The targeting of the microloans organization came as United States envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, is due to arrive in the country on Monday in what have been framed as “last chance” talks toward a ceasefire.

Spokesperson for the Israeli military Avichay Adraee warned on Sunday evening that it would target the association’s infrastructure nationwide, instructing residents in buildings located within a 500 meter radius of the branches to evacuate for their own safety.

The association, which provides customers who can provide a guarantor or a gold deposit with loans worth up to US$5000, has over 30 branches across Lebanon, most of which are located in central urban areas.

The Israeli military issued warnings that specific buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut would be targeted, launching airstrikes on branch buildings in Chiyeh and Choueifat among others. Outside of the capital, branches in Nabatieh, Aqbieh near Saida, Baalbek, Hermel, and Mashaghra, Riak and Ali al-Nahri in Beqaa, were all targeted with airstrikes overnight.  

In Saida, where the organization’s central branch is located in Riyad al-Solh street among other customer bank branches, the street was closed to public traffic, and head of the Saida municipality Hazem Badieh ordered the evacuation of the police headquarters and two centers housing the displaced which are located nearby, according to a Mada Masr correspondent in the area.

The Saida branch was not targeted in the wave of overnight strikes, yet the street remained closed on Monday in anticipation that strikes could still take place. 

The organization, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that it had taken precautionary measures at the beginning of the war to ensure that its customers' finances would be safe, accusing Israel of “bankruptcy.”

Al-Qard Al-Hassan has been sanctioned by the United States Treasury since 2007, but undertook an apparent expansion in 2023, when it opened new branches across Lebanon. In recent years, the organization has also begun to offer a savings service to customers wishing to deposit cash. 

One depositor, who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity, said that they chose to save with Al-Qard Al-Hassan recently as it seemed like a safe option following the collapse of the national banking system in 2019. 

Fearing that its branches would be targeted, the depositor said they elected to withdraw all of their savings from Al-Qard Al-Hassan in later September, and faced no issue in doing so. Other depositors trying to withdraw on the same day were unable to do so, however, the depositor said.

Since the end of September, all of the financial institution’s branches across the country have been closed, and customers have been unable to access their deposits. 

The customer finance organization, which is registered in Lebanon as a non-governmental organization, was founded in the 1980s and offered support to residents of south Lebanon who were displaced by Israel’s invasion. Government figures in the early 2000s indicated that it was the largest microfinance organization operating in the country at the time. 

Its branches were targeted by Israel during the 2006 war, after which a majority of depositors were able to access gold deposits they had made with the association. 

Elsewhere in Lebanon, in ongoing airstrikes targeting residential areas, a raid in the early hours of Monday morning targeted a home in Baalbek which killed six people, including women and children.

At the border, where clashes continue, Hezbollah announced on Monday morning that it had shot down an Israeli drone. 

Three soldiers in the Lebanese army were killed on Sunday afternoon, the military said, in an Israeli raid on Ain al-Abl. 

UN peacekeeping forces in the area, UNIFIL, stated that Israeli forces had once again targeted a monitoring station belonging to the forces in Marwahin. UNIFIL has repeatedly denounced Israel’s targeting of its posts along the Blue Line.  

The multinational forces are stationed in the area to enforce the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulated the conditions for Israel’s withdrawal from the area. 

Prior to this month, Israel still occupied Lebanese territory along the border connecting the two countries. Since the start of ground operations in early October, however, Israeli forces have made small advancements into areas spanning the border including Maroun al-Ras, Yaroun, Aita al-Shaab, Ramiyeh and Mahaibib, according to a Lebanese security source who spoke to Mada Masr on Monday. 

United States presidential envoy Amos Hochstein is due to arrive in Lebanon on Monday to discuss a ceasefire. Israeli sources cited by Axios said that Israel has demanded that a ceasefire include Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line — a stipulation of SCR 1701 — as well as other, new conditions such as full access to Lebanese airspace and an active role in enforcing the resolution. 

Amal Movement head and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told media on Sunday evening that he remains in full support of the security council resolution, stressing that he would not agree to any additions or anything less than what it stipulated. 

He described the talks as America’s “last chance” to reach a solution for Lebanon.