Gaza War: Israel hits Hezbollah finances as US eyes diplomacy in Lebanon
Lebanon media says Israeli strikes hit Hezbollah-linked finance group
Israel conducted air strikes hitting a Lebanese association linked to Hezbollah, accusing it on Monday of financing the group's weapons, as it expanded the scope of its raids beyond military targets.
In southern Lebanon, Israeli strikes hit Al Qard Al Hassan branches in the cities of Nabatiyeh and Tyre overnight, according to the official National News Agency.
On Monday, the Israeli military said it had conducted a series of strikes against "dozens of facilities and sites" used by Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon, including on branches of the financial institution.
The strikes mark an expansion of Israel's nearly month-long war with Hezbollah, as it seeks to degrade the group's ability to fund operations.
Israel accuses Al Qard Al Hassan of funding "Hezbollah's terror activities", including the purchase of weapons and payments to militants.
Hezbollah built its loyal support base in the areas of Lebanon by providing protection, health, education and financial services in a state long wracked by sectarianism and corruption. Al Qard Al Hassan is a Hezbollah-linked financial firm offering micro-credit in a country where the traditional banking system collapsed five years ago at the start of a crushing economic crisis.
On Sunday, 11 strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs, NNA reported, many of them targeting Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
At the site of a flattened building housing a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan in south Beirut, AFP photographers saw a pile of concrete and mangled metal.
Other strikes hit Al-Qard al-Hassan branches in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley and in the country's south.
The NNA also reported a strike near Beirut's airport, the main entry-point of humanitarian assistance to the country and a major evacuation hub for those fleeing the conflict.
According to the Israeli military, dozens of projectiles were launched across the border Monday morning.
"Ehsan was a hero of Israel, a warrior, and a commander - a role model for the bond with the Druze community. He dedicated his life to the security of Israel and its citizens. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Huda and their children, Omri, Reef, and Yasmin. We are all praying for the recovery of our brave wounded," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Daqsa and another battalion commander were critically injured by an explosive device when they exited their tanks to do a tactical observation.
"Known for his humility and valor, Daqsa had been leading his brigade since the start of the war and had previously received the Medal of Valor for his bravery during the Second Lebanon War," Hagari said.
"On October 7, he transitioned directly from his studies into combat in the south and has been fighting ever since. He took command of the 401st Armored Brigade around four months ago."
Hagari added that Daqsa led the battle at Tel Sultan in Rafah when he assumed command and directed the brigade, "which likely prevented [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar's escape. From there, he continued to lead the battle in Jabaliya, where the brigade remains engaged. Ehsan led from the front and fell while guiding his soldiers."
Rafiq Halabi, Mayor of Daliyat al-Karmel local council, where Daqsa's family resides, also paid tribute to Daqsa on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"He was a brave, legendary warrior who has fought since the beginning of the war. The Druze community, the IDF, and the State of Israel have lost one of their greatest heroes," Halabi tweeted.
The 41-year-old Daqsa is survived by his wife and three children.
Five colonels have fallen in combat since Hamas's October 7 attack, and Daqsa is the highest-ranking officer to killed since then.
Blinken back to Middle East
The move to further degrade the Iran-backed militant group came ahead of a visit to Lebanon by an envoy of US President Joe Biden as the White House looks for ways to reach a diplomatic resolution and contain Israel's spiraling multi-front conflict.
Amos Hochstein, Biden's main diplomat for the Israel-Lebanon file, arrived in Beirut on Monday.
Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri "- a key interlocutor between the West and Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by the US and many other countries "- told Al-Jadeed TV it would be the "last chance" for a cease-fire deal before the American presidential election on Nov. 5.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, is also expected to visit the Middle East this week.
It will be the 11th trip to the Middle East by the top US diplomat since war broke out a year ago, with Blinken on his last visit to Israel in August warning it may have been the "last chance" for a US-led ceasefire plan.
That push did not succeed, and the conflict has escalated and expanded since then, with Israel pounding Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and warning of a new strike directly on Iran, whose clerical leaders back both Hamas and Hezbollah.
Blinken's trip comes days after he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Israel that the United States could withhold some of its billions of dollars in military aid unless more humanitarian assistance is allowed into Gaza, where the UN warns more than 1.8 million people are facing "extreme hunger."
Biden, who personally laid out the ceasefire plan on May 31 that would also free hostages from Gaza, has seen new hope since Israel last week killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.
Iran denies interfering in Lebanon's affairs
Iran denied interfering in Lebanese affairs after comments by a senior official sparked a political backlash in Beirut, in a rare rift between the two countries.
Iran has "never interfered" in the internal affairs of Lebanon or any other country, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a press conference in Tehran.
His comments came after Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf received a public rebuke from Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati last week for saying Tehran could negotiate with France on the implementation of a 2006 UN resolution that envisaged the withdrawal of the Hezbollah militant group from parts of southern Lebanon. Mikati described the comments as "blatant interference."
Iran will speak with "any country" that has proposals for how to stop Israel's military operations in Lebanon and Gaza, Baghaei said on Monday.
Israel ‘demolished’ watchtower: UN
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said the Israeli army had "deliberately" damaged one of their positions, the latest incident reported by the force.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops Sunday that the military was stepping up its strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, "destroying them in places that Hezbollah planned to use as launchpads for attacks against Israel".
New evacuation order
The military warned it was about to attack offices of US-sanctioned Al Qard Al Hassan and urged residents to move away from its facilities. Strikes began shortly after, according to NNA.
They mark an expansion of Israel's campaign against Hezbollah, as the Israeli military seeks to degrade the group's ability to fund operations, having already killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders.
Israel turned its focus north towards Hezbollah last month.
Full-scale war erupted after a year of tit-for-tat exchanges over the border as Hezbollah fired rockets in what it called support for Hamas Palestinian militants at war with Israel in Gaza since October 7 last year.
Silent streets
In southern Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, said an Israeli "army bulldozer deliberately had demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position".
The accusation came four days after European Union nations with troops in the thousands-strong mission expressed "the shared will to exert maximum political and diplomatic pressure on Israel" to prevent further "incidents" against UNIFIL.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has said Israel has "no intention" of harming the peacekeepers.
Earlier Sunday the Israeli military said it hit the "command centre of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters" and underground weapons facility in south Beirut.
IDF hits Hezbollah intelligence HQ
On Saturday night the military had similarly reported striking weapons stores and a "Hezbollah intelligence headquarters" in the area.
Just a month ago, south Beirut's bustling streets were packed with traffic, families strolling about and youths in cafes, but now silence dominates the abandoned Hezbollah bastion.
70 projectiles fired from Lebanon
About 70 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel Sunday within a matter of minutes, the military said, adding it had intercepted some of them.
Illustrating the intensity of the fighting, NNA later reported 14 Israeli strikes in the space of 15 minutes on a single border village, Khiam.
The Lebanese army, which is not fighting in the war, said three of its soldiers had been killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in southern Lebanon.
Israel's military announced the death of a brigade commander in a blast in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have been engaged in a sweeping assault targeting Hamas.
73 Palestinians killed
Gaza's civil defence agency on Sunday said an Israeli air strike on a residential area killed 73 Palestinians late Saturday in Beit Lahia, adjacent to Jabalia.
The Israeli military said it struck a "Hamas terror target" in Beit Lahia, adding that the toll figures given by Gaza authorities "do not align" with the information it possessed.
Israel's 'impunity': Jordan
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi again accused the international community of granting "impunity" to Israel's government which, he said on X, "is brutally terrorising the whole population to push them out of their homeland".
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation "condemned the strike in the strongest terms", describing Israel's actions in Gaza a "stain on the conscience of humanity".
Fighting rages
The Israeli military said it had killed more than 65 Hezbollah militants during strikes on dozens of targets in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah itself said on Sunday it had fired rocket barrages at Israel, including against military bases near Haifa, Safed and Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.
Israeli firefighters used aircraft to battle flames after a rocket strike near Rosh Pinna, in the Safed area.
Hezbollah also claimed an attack against "the city of Haifa." AFPTV images showed puffs of smoke in the sky above the port of Haifa as air defences intercepted rockets and a siren wailed.
Since its beginning last month, the Israel-Hezbollah war has killed at least 1,470 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.
The Gaza war was sparked by the unprecedented Hamas attack last year that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel's campaign to crush Hamas and bring back hostages held there has killed 42,603 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN considers reliable.
Israel, vowing to stop Hamas militants from regrouping in northern Gaza, launched a major air and ground assault on October 6, tightening its siege on the war-battered area and sending tens of thousands of people fleeing.
"We are now trapped with no food, water or medicine, facing starvation amid the rubble and destruction," said Ahmad Saleh, 36, from northern Gaza's Al Tawbah area.