Yoav Gallant maintained that this measure is part of the “economic effort” adopted to reduce Hezbollah’s area of action outside the battlefield.
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The Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, signed an act this Monday declaring the financial entity Al-Qard al-Hassan, affiliated with the Shiite group Hezbollah, but also used by ordinary Lebanese citizens, as a terrorist organization, his office reported. .
The act, signed on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, and the national security service, Shin Bet, adds the institution to the list of terrorist organizations designated by Israel.
Gallant argued, in a statement, that This measure is part of the “economic effort” adopted to reduce Hezbollah’s area of action. outside the battlefield, since, through this entity, it pays its combatants or maintains funds for the purchase of military equipment.
This measure comes after on Sunday night the Israeli Army attacked more than a dozen affiliates of the Al-Qard al-Hassan group in different parts of Lebanon, including the southern suburbs of Beirut and very close to the airport.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the “considerable damage” caused to civilian facilities by the Israeli bombings against the financial organization linked to the Shiite movement supported by Iran.
The Israeli Army reported this Monday that achieved almost 30 objectives linked to the organization Al-Qard al-Hassan.
The attacks caused “indescribable panic and a new wave of displacement among the inhabitants of these areas,” lamented the High Commissioner.
“International humanitarian law must always be respected. Civilians and civilian infrastructure are not a target.“The entity also stated, calling for a ceasefire.
Subject to US sanctions, the group Al-Qard al-Hassan works as a financial institution that provides microcredit in Lebanonwhere the banking system collapsed.
The organization is part of the network of associations, schools and hospitals that have strengthened Hezbollah’s popularity in its strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in southern and eastern Lebanon.
At least 2,483 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 11,600 have been injured in Israeli attacks since October 8, 2023, when clashes broke out with the Shiite group Hezbollah as part of the war in the Gaza Strip.
However, the majority of deaths have been recorded since Israel began a large-scale bombing campaign in Lebanon on September 23, which in turn forced more than 1.2 million people to flee their homes.
Source: Observadora
