CashNews.co
The Israeli military on Sunday targeted several branches of Islamic finance institution Al-Qard al-Hassan, which it accuses of funding Hezbollah’s activities in Lebanon. For 40 years, this organisation has specialised in microcredit, a sector that has grown significantly since the collapse of Lebanon’s financial system in 2019.
The buildings were laid low across Lebanon, from the southern suburbs of Beirut to the coastal city of Tyre and the eastern Beqaa plain. The Israeli military on Sunday targeted nearly 30 targets and tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold belonging to the financial institution Al-Qard al-Hassan – Arabic for “benevolent lending”.
The organisation, which is registered as a charitable association, follows the principles of Islamic finance, lending out money without charging interest. Considered to be Hezbollah’s economic arm, the organisation has been targeted by US sanctions for years – and, now, by Israeli air strikes.
For Didier Leroy, a researcher at the Belgium’s Royal Military Academy, these fresh strikes followed on from Israel’s devastating attacks against the Iran-backed Shiite group.
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
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