Hidden fortune: Hezbollah's alleged bunker beneath Beirut hospital
- Hezbollah has allegedly built a bunker beneath one of the hospitals in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. According to the Israel Defence Forces spokesperson, the group is purportedly concealing over £400 million in gold and cash there, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. He stated that the military will not target the facility, despite the hospital director having ordered its evacuation.
This money could help rebuild Lebanon, but it has been allocated to strengthen Hezbollah, said Hagari. The spokesperson's statement, posted on social media, included a graphic showing the bunker's location and the facility's entrances.
Hagari noted that the bunker, intentionally constructed under the hospital, previously served as one of the hideouts for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed at the end of September in an Israeli airstrike. He claims The hideout has now been converted into Hezbollah's central treasury, where most of the terrorist organisation's funds are concealed.
Hospital director Fadi Alameh, in an interview with Reuters, denied the Israeli military's accusations and called on the Lebanese army to inspect the facility. He has simultaneously ordered its evacuation.
- Israel will continue attacks on Hezbollah's financial institutions, Hagari announced.
Israel's attack: striking Lebanon and Beirut
On the night from Sunday to Monday, Israel targeted about 30 locations associated with Hezbollah-affiliated financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hasan, as reported by the Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Armed Forces, Gen. Herzi Halevi. Media reported that Israeli fighter jets and drones struck facilities across Lebanon, including Beirut.
Hagari added that during the day on Monday, in an attack on the Syrian capital, Damascus, an unnamed Hezbollah official responsible for transferring funds to the group from Iran was killed. According to Israelis, the man had been performing his duties for only a few weeks because his predecessor was also killed in an Israeli attack.
On Monday evening, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli military, Col. Avichay Adraee, warned residents in the southern suburb of Beirut to evacuate immediately from the vicinity of several buildings used by Hezbollah.
A few minutes later, a heavy airstrike began near the Rafic Hariri University Hospital, reported Reuters. According to its sources, at least three people were killed in the attack, which destroyed the hospital's car park.
