Israeli strikes Hezbollah cash vault in Beirut

Israel’s defence force says it struck a Hezbollah vault containing tens of millions of dollars in gold and cash, warning a second vault under Lebanon’s main hospital will be next.

Israel’s army claims Hezbollah has stored half a billion dollars under Lebanon’s biggest public hospital, as it targeted a separate vault containing tens of millions of dollars in gold and cash.

Israel Defense Force Rear Admiral Hagari said the Israeli Air Force carried out “a series of precise strikes” on Hezbollah financial strongholds.

“One of our main targets last night (Monday local time) was an underground vault with tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold. The money was being used to finance Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel,” Rear Admiral Hagari said in a televised address.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam. Picture: AFP

He said another bunker, also allegedly filled with cash and gold under the Sahel hospital in Beirut had not been targeted yet by the Israeli military.

“According to the estimates we have, there is at least half a billion dollars in dollar bills and gold stored in this bunker,” he said.

“This money could and still can be used to rebuild the state of Lebanon.”

Lebanon’s health ministry denied the Israeli army’s claims.

A man inspects the damage in a house that was hit in an Israeli air strike in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley. Picture: AFP

Four people including a child were killed in Israeli air strikes near the Sahel hospital on Monday local time, Lebanon’s health ministry said, adding the hit caused “significant damage to the hospital”.

The ministry said the strike hit the entrance to the hospital, “which is still operating and receives a large number of patients”.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported at least three Israeli strikes on the Ouzai district of south Beirut.

“Tonight, I am going to declassify intelligence on a site that we did not strike—where Hezbollah has millions of dollars in gold and cash—in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital in the heart of Beirut.”

Listen to IDF Spox.… pic.twitter.com/SjMZQpKqoJ

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 21, 2024

While most districts of Beirut’s southern suburbs had been emptied for almost a month, the densely-packed residential area of Ouzai was still filled with people because it had never been targeted before.

The NNA reported more than a dozen strikes on various south Beirut districts including Haret Hreik, just south of Ouzai, and Hadath.

Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers told AFP they were looking for survivors amid the devastation in Ouzai, adding that the evacuation order, then the strike, caused “panic among residents” who “started to run in the streets”.

Hezbollah’s finances are like a game of Monopoly. Watch until the end to see who their banker is: pic.twitter.com/ujvY15UvLI

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 21, 2024

“They did not leave any room for people to escape. The strike came closely after the warning,” one said.

A Lebanese security official told AFP that the country’s national airline had to switch landing strips after Israeli strikes near Beirut’s only international airport hit close to the main runway.

“Middle East Airlines switched the runway it was using because the main runway is close to the site of the Ouzai strike,” the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

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Originally published as Israeli strikes Hezbollah cash vault in Beirut