Israel said it had raided a Hezbollah bunker with “millions of dollars in cash and gold”.

In strikes on Hezbollah’s financial structure in Lebanon, Israel said it also hit a bunker containing millions of dollars worth of cash and gold. “One of our main targets last night was an underground vault containing millions of dollars in cash and gold,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Monday. The money was used to “finance Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.”

Hagari initially gave no information on whether all the money was destroyed in the attack. However, he pointed to a separate bunker under Sahel Hospital in a southern Beirut suburb where cash and gold are stored.

“According to our estimate, at least half a billion dollars in bills and gold are stored in this bunker,” Hagari said. “This money can be used for the reconstruction of Lebanon,” he stressed. According to him, this bunker has not yet been targeted by the Israeli army.

The head of the hospital, Fadi Alame, dismissed the Israeli allegations as “false” to the AFP news agency. Alameh, a lawmaker from Hezbollah’s allied Amal party, said the Lebanese army “or other observers” were ready to inspect the hospital to refute Israeli claims.

Israel also claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a car in Damascus. A leading member of the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon responsible for the fund was killed, Hagari explained. “We will continue to take action against Hezbollah in Syria and elsewhere,” he declared. According to Syrian sources, at least two people were killed and three wounded in the attack.

Since Monday night, the Israeli military has targeted the financial structure of Hezbollah militants and struck its offices from the air. According to the military, around 300 militant targets were hit within 24 hours. According to army commander Herzi Halevi, the Hezbollah-linked financial institution al-Khart al-Hasan hit 30 targets.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Al-Gard al-Hasan is used by Hezbollah to hide financial activities and gain access to the international financial system.

Lebanese state media: Israeli attacks in South Beirut

Lebanese state media reported that the area came under airstrikes after the Israeli army called for the evacuation of some neighborhoods in south Beirut. “Israeli airstrike targeted Uzai area,” state news agency ANI reported. It was the first attack in the neighborhood since Israeli attacks began in the neighboring country a year ago.

Footage from the AFP news agency showed clouds of smoke on the outskirts of Beirut and two powerful explosions were heard. Rescuers close to pro-Iranian Hezbollah told AFP that at least three people were killed and several wounded in Israeli strikes in the Uzai district, considered a Hezbollah stronghold, on Monday evening.

Shortly before the attack, the Israeli army called on residents of neighboring areas in South Beirut to seek shelter. Army spokesman Avichai Adre appealed in online media, pointing to areas to be evacuated, including the area near Beirut airport.

In the past few days, the Israeli military has continued to call for the evacuation of various parts of the country ahead of its airstrikes – including several times in the suburbs of Beirut.

Pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon opened a second front against Israel with a series of rocket attacks after a major attack on Israel by its allied Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on October 7, 2023. In response, Israel shelled targets in Lebanon and launched ground operations in southern Lebanon against militant positions.