Attacking Bank Qard Al-Hassan Office, Israel Wants To Disable Hezbollah's Financial Network

Israeli Air Force/DOK fighter jet via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - Israel's attack on the office of Hezbollah-affiliated Qard al-Hassan bank was one of the most intense attacks since its start in Lebanon more than a month ago.

Several attacks destroyed entire residential blocks. Nearly a dozen airstrikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut one of its targets is only a few hundred meters from the country's only commercial airport. The plane was seen landing on the runway with a fireball illuminating the night sky.

Reported by CNN, Monday, October 21, Israel said it aims to cripple Hezbollah's financial network as part of a greater effort to destroy the militant group's infrastructure.

Qard al-Hassan, he said, is the main means that Hezbollah uses to pay the salaries of its fighters. However, this loan-giving office also provides interest-free loans to the working-class Shia Muslim family.

Like most Hezbollah institutions, the service that supports the militant group's activities also provides social safety nets for Shia civilians in this country that has almost failed.

When public institutions weaken in Lebanon, sectarian factions will intervene. This is at the core of the kleptocratic power-sharing system that has weakened the country's central government for decades, and Hezbollah is superior in this regard.

Since Hezbollah is deeply embedded in the Shia Muslim community, and in Lebanon in general, Israel may defend any infrastructure-related targets as a target that harms the group.

But the more Israeli attacks deviate from Hezbollah's military structure, the more Lebanese civilians and the country suffer.