Overnight, the Israeli air force launched attacks on numerous locations across Beirut and southern Lebanon. These places are allegedly being exploited by Hizbullah as financial centres for its operations. The assaults triggered a mass departure of Beirut residents following multiple explosions in the Lebanese capital, according to reports.
Several subsidiaries of a financial entity connected to Hizbullah in Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley were targeted by the late-night Israeli offensives on Sunday. Eyewitnesses recounted seeing columns of dark smoke ascending into the sky following no fewer than 10 detonations in Beirut’s suburbs. Fearful masses congested city streets, leading to traffic disruptions as they tried to relocate to presumably safer parts of the city, eyewitnesses remarked.
A building situated in Beirut’s southern Chiyah district was obliterated, with the small number of people in the vicinity managing to escape the explosion, resulting in no loss of life, according to eyewitnesses.
“Attacks on infrastructure associated with the Hezbollah Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association are imminent – evacuate this area immediately,” cautioned an Israeli military representative in an earlier public statement posted on social media platform X.
Al-Qard al-Hassan, an entity supposedly utilised by the Iran-backed Hizbullah to administer its finances, boasts over 30 branches across Lebanon. This includes 15 located in high-density residential regions of central Beirut and its neighbouring districts. Lebanon’s Hizbullah or the government did not immediately respond.
A senior Israeli intelligence official, asked to comment on whether these entities could be categorised as military objectives, noted the scope of the attack is to undermine Hizbullah’s financial capabilities during and post-war, hindering rearmament and reconstruction efforts.
According to information from two US and two Israeli officials cited by Axios, Israel has allegedly handed the US a statement outlining its conditions for a peaceful resolution to the Lebanese conflict. Among the conditions, per Axios’s Israeli source, Israel insists on “active enforcement” to ensure Hizbullah’s inability to rearm or reinstate its military facilities near the border.
Israel insists on maintaining control over its operations in Lebanese airspace, according to a report. However, according to a US official speaking to Axios, it seems highly improbable that both Lebanon and the international community will accept these terms set by Israel. Amos Hochstein, a representative from the US, will be in Beirut next week to discuss terms surrounding a ceasefire with Lebanon’s officials. These discussions are against the backdrop of a concerted effort by Israel as they increase their air raids on Hizbullah assets, according to Lebanese sources in communication with Reuters.
A conflict that ignited a year ago when Hizbullah began firing rockets in solidarity with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in Gaza. In response, Israel commenced a ground operation inside Lebanon earlier in October, aiming to secure the border region for its inhabitants who have been fleeing from rocket attacks in northern Israel.
Despite efforts by the US and regional authorities over the past year, a ceasefire in Gaza remains elusive and has resulted in scepticism from Lebanese officials and diplomats about the likelihood of a truce in Lebanon. The situation has intensified following the murder of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, which sparked hopes for ceasefire discussions to conclude a year of conflict.
As the US elections loom, Israel is utilising its military operations to fortify its borders and impede the reassembly of its adversaries, according to regional sources. Furthermore, Israel is readied for reprisal in response to an Iranian missile attack earlier in the month, despite pressure from Washington not to target Iranian energy or nuclear sites.
On Sunday, Israel confirmed that it targeted and hit the Hizbullah intelligence base and a concealed weapons manufacturing site in Beirut, resulting in the death of three Hizbullah leaders. Although Hizbullah remained silent about these attacks, it claimed to have retaliated by firing missiles at Israeli forces in Lebanon and a base in northern Israel.
According to Israeli reports, a Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7th of the previous year, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages, was the catalyst for the war in Gaza. The military retaliation of Israel in Gaza has led to over 42,500 deaths and the displacement of most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people, claim Palestinian officials.
Lebanese authorities reckon that within the previous year, over 2,400 individuals lost their lives, and upwards of 1.2 million were compelled to relocate within Lebanon. Similarly, in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, during the equivalent timeline, 59 fatalities were reported by Israeli officials, according to Reuters.