Explosions heard in Lebanon as Israel vows to hit Hezbollah financial sites

Israel has carried out other airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon, including on branches of a bank it says supports Hezbollah.

Explosions were heard in the Beirut district of Dahieh, an area controlled by Hezbollah, as well as the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. It is not clear if there are any injuries.

The Israeli army earlier warned residents of 25 areas in Lebanon – including 14 in the capital Beirut – that they planned to carry out strikes throughout the night.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also said it would target banks and other financial infrastructure that support Hezbollah.

In a statement on Sunday evening, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warned that “anyone who is near areas used to support Hezbollah’s terrorist activities must leave these areas immediately”.

“We will be hitting several restrictions in the coming hours and some additional targets throughout the night,” he said.

“In the coming days, we will reveal how Iran supports Hezbollah’s terrorist activities through public institutions, organizations, and NGOs that work as part of terrorism,” said an Israeli spokesman.

Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported strikes at Al-Qard Al-Hassan bank branches, including in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

It also reported a strike at the bank’s branch near the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut. Pictures show smoke billowing from the explosion near the airport.

The bank has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in congested areas of Beirut, Reuters reported.

Israel accuses the group of funneling Iranian money into the group to finance the purchase and maintenance of weapons and to pay the salaries of its members. The US also says it is being used by Hezbollah to manage its finances.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it had fired more rockets at Israel on Sunday, targeting military ports. It also said it had shot down Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

On Sunday evening, the IDF said dozens of bombs – meaning rockets – had been fired into northern Israel in the past 24 hours.

It also said its warplanes carried out an “intelligence-based strike on the directorate of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters and an underground weapons workshop in Beirut”.

It says measures have been taken to “reduce the possibility of killing people”.

Israel has been accused by Hezbollah and Lebanese officials of targeting civilians, which it denies.

On Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) accused the IDF of deliberately demolishing an observation tower and a UN compound fence in the southern Lebanese town of Marwahin on the Israeli border. It follows similar incidents in recent weeks.

“Currently, we recognize that violating the UN position and damaging UN property is a clear violation of international law and Security Council resolution 1701,” Unifil said in a statement.

In another incident, the Lebanese army said three of its soldiers were killed after an army vehicle was hit by Israeli jets in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon.

Israel has not yet commented on the two reported incidents.

Lebanon’s military has historically stayed out of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah – but a number of its soldiers have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the conflict escalated last month.

Hezbollah – Lebanon’s most powerful terrorist group – says it has been shelling Israeli positions in cooperation with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas are supported by Iran.

Lebanese officials estimate that more than 2,400 people have been killed in the country in the past year. Israel says 59 people have been killed in northern Israel and the Golan Heights during the same period.