Analysis: Very heavy night of bombing in Beirut – the crisis appears to be getting worse
Israel’s overnight attacks on Hezbollah’s financial operation is another “significant escalation in this crisis”, says international correspondent Alex Rossi, in Lebanon.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had targeted “dozens” of al Qard al Hassan (a financial institution) locations allegedly used by Hezbollah to pay operatives and help buy arms.
The institution, sanctioned by both the US and Saudi Arabia, is also used by ordinary Lebanese and has more than 30 branches in the country.
Rossi is in Beirut, which he says has just emerged from a “very heavy night of bombing”.
“We heard a number of explosions in the night,” he says.
“You can see from the skyline behind me – that’s Dahieh. Beyond those buildings there, smoke billows out from the sites that were hit.
“We’ve had a statement from the organisation. They call the decision to target it a sign of Israel’s bankruptcy, and ensured customers it had taken measures to ensure their funds were safe.
“This, of course, is another significant escalation in this crisis, which does not appear to be going down. If anything, it appears to be getting worse.”
Explained: What is al Qard al Hassan?
We’ve been reporting this morning about Israel’s overnight strikes targeting al Qard al Hassan, a bank which the Israeli military says is used by Hezbollah.
The interest-free lending association was set up in 1982 as a charitable foundation and was registered as a lender in 1987.
Its name in Arabic means “the benevolent loan” and it has more than 30 branches across the country, including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs.
The bank is used by ordinary Lebanese, with Hezbollah seeing it as a tool to entrench support among the population where state and financial institutions have failed in recent years.
Al Qard al Hassan was sanctioned by the US in 2007 due to alleged ties with Hezbollah.
THAAD anti-missile system ‘in place’ in Israel
The highly advanced anti-missile defence system the US sent to Israel is now “in place”, according to defence secretary Lloyd Austin.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery possesses the ability to fend off ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere.
It requires a crew of 95 soldiers to operate it, which the US is also supplying to Israel.
Mr Austin declined to say whether the THAAD was operational, but added: “We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we’re on pace with our expectations.”
Israel gives US its demands for ending war in Lebanon – reports
Israel gave the US its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon last week, according to reports.
Citing both US and Israeli officials, US news outlet Axios reports Israel has demanded its military be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” to make sure Hezbollah doesn’t rearm and rebuild close to the border.
Israel also demanded its air force have freedom of operation in Lebanese airspace, the report added.
A US official told Axios it was highly unlikely that Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel’s conditions.
Israel launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon three weeks ago, carrying out what it called “limited, localised and targeted” raids against Hezbollah.
It has since claimed to have killed dozens of Hezbollah operatives in the country, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, with a strike on Beirut last month.
Over the last year, Lebanese officials estimate that more than 2,400 people have been killed due to Israeli attacks, with the majority happening since hostilities escalated in the last month.
Israel bombing branches of bank in Lebanon
Israel’s military says it conducted a series of overnight airstrikes on Lebanon targeting “dozens” of locations used by Hezbollah to finance its operations.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the strikes were conducted in the areas of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and deep within Lebanese territory.
It added that “numerous steps” were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including sending advance warnings of the attacks.
The threat saw hundreds in Beirut flee their homes, with Reuters reporting panicked crowds filling streets.
The IDF said it was targeting Hezbollah’s Al Qard al Hassan unit, which pays operatives and helps buy arms.
The institution, sanctioned by both the US and Saudi Arabia, is also used by ordinary Lebanese and has more than 30 branches across Lebanon.
According to Lebanese state media, at least 16 airstrikes were recorded across Lebanon against buildings with Al Qard al Hassan branches.
In a statement, Al Qard al Hassan assured customers it had taken “measures” to ensure their funds were safe and called the decision to target it a sign of Israel’s “bankruptcy”.
Big picture: Here’s what you need to know at the start of the week
Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage. Before we continue, we’ve rounded up a bigger picture of what you need to know as we enter a new week.
The conflicts in the Middle East have been moving quickly in the last seven days. In Gaza, where Israel has been engaged in a war with Hamas militants for the last year, more areas in the north have been ordered to evacuate, suggesting further Israeli military action could be descending on the area.
In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah militants (who, like Hamas, are backed by Iran), strikes continue and IDF troops press on with ground action.
Meanwhile, the world is also waiting for Israel’s response to an Iranian missile attack on the country at the start of the month.
Here are the key events from the past week…
Sinwar killed
After more than a year, the man deemed responsible for masterminding the 7 October attacks on Israel was killed by troops in a chance encounter.
Yahya Sinwar was taken from Rafah, where he died, into Israel for extensive tests to verify his identity.
The US and Israel hailed the killing as a great victory, while Hamas and Iran vowed it would inspire further “resistance”.
You can read more about what that might mean for the conflict in the Middle East here…
Air campaigns continue – at heavy price
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon continue to exact a heavy price on the civilian populations there.
Some 25% of Lebanon has been ordered to evacuate by Israel, according to the UN, displacing more than 400,000 children.
In Gaza, more than 42,000 people have been killed in the year since the 7 October attacks, according to Hamas-led authorities there.
Israel says it continues to target Hezbollah and Hamas fighters, infrastructure and weapons facilities and that it is doing everything it can to avoid civilian casualties – including issuing warnings.
Hezbollah growing bolder as it signals new tactics
With several of its high-profile commanders – including its overall leader – having been killed, Hezbollah has signalled it is shifting its tactics.
That includes striking targets deeper within Israel.
On Saturday, it emerged that a drone fired from Lebanon (not yet claimed by Hezbollah) reached as far as Caesarea in central Israel – and was meant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s house.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed the previous weekend by a Hezbollah drone attack on a military base in the town of Binyamina.
It reportedly hit the canteen when it was full for dinner and the ambulance service said 61 people were injured.
Israel returning to old battlegrounds in apparent objective shift
In Gaza, Israel has turned back to several areas it operated in at the start of the war.
Our military analyst Sean Bell said limiting Hamas’s military capabilities is no longer Israel’s main goal.
IDF troops have been operating in the Jabalia refugee camp and further south in Maghazi in recent weeks – both sites that saw heavy fighting earlier in the war.
“Originally the Israelis were looking to degrade Hamas’s ability to fight and govern, but it does look like that’s switching – to actually destroy Hamas’s ability to fight [entirely],” Bell says.
Watch more on that here…
Analysis: The picture in Lebanon is grim and this war is intensifying
Sky international correspondent Alex Rossi is in Beirut, where explosions have been heard this evening following Israeli warnings of strikes.
He reports an “orange glow in the distance on the skyline” of the Lebanese capital – and says he and his team have heard a “series of explosions” in recent hours.
Rossi says one bomb landed “towards the airport” and confirmed hundreds have already fled their homes.
“Israel’s desire to deliver that crushing victory is continuing tonight,” he says.
He describes the targeting of Hezbollah’s al Qard al Hassan financial unit as an “escalation… because it is civilian infrastructure”.
But he says: “They want to dismantle it – they want to stop Hezbollah re-arming.
“But certainly tonight, the picture is pretty grim. This war is intensifying and this crisis is getting worse.”
Israel intercepts drone from Syria
The Israeli Air Force has said it shot down a drone from Syria before it entered its airspace this evening.
Describing it as an “unmanned aircraft launched from the east”, they said it was “intercepted” over “Syrian skies… before crossing into the territory of the state of Israel”.
Blasts heard in Beirut
Blasts have been heard and smoke seen over Beirut’s southern suburbs, Reuters witnesses reported on Sunday.
In the last hour, Israel said it was planning to target sites in the city belonging to Hezbollah’s financial arm (see 7.30pm post).
The threat has already seen hundreds in Beirut flee their homes, with Reuters reporting panicked crowds filling streets.
Hezbollah’s al Qard al Hassan financial unit has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated parts of Beirut and its suburbs.
It is used to pay the Iranian-backed group’s operatives and help buy arms.
An Israeli military spokesperson said earlier: “Residents of Lebanon, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will begin attacking infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah al Qard al Hassan Association – get away from it immediately.”