Israel claims it has found $500 Million in “secret” Hezbollah bunker in Beirut.
New Israeli declassified intelligence claims the presence of a secret Hezbollah financial hub beneath a Beirut hospital.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the bunker contained hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold, allegedly used to fund the group’s operations.
This revelation followed a series of targeted airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force on Sunday night, aimed at Hezbollah’s financial assets.
Detail information
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari gave detailed information during a televised briefing, maintaining, “Tonight, I am going to declassify intelligence on a site that we did not strike-where Hezbollah has millions of dollars in gold and cash in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. The bunker is located directly under Al-Sahel Hospital in the heart of Beirut.”
Hagari said that the site had not been targeted yet, despite the alleged presence of significant financial resources.
“According to estimates, there is at least half a billion dollars in dollar bills and gold stored in this bunker. This money could and still can be used to rebuild the state of Lebanon,” he said.
The Sunday night’s airstrikes targeted nearly 30 Hezbollah-linked locations, including sites operated by Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH), a financial firm linked to Hezbollah.
AQAH – financial arm of Hezbollah
AQAH, though registered as a charity, has been accused by both Israel and the United States of serving as a critical financial arm of Hezbollah, facilitating its access to cash and gold reserves for military purposes.
Hagari claimed that one of the key targets was an underground vault containing tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold, resources that were allegedly being used to fund attacks on Israel.
While Hagari did not confirm whether all the funds were destroyed in the strike, he said that further airstrikes could be expected, particularly targeting additional financial hubs.
The strikes followed an ongoing Israeli effort to destroy Hezbollah’s finances.
According to IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, the campaign involved over 300 strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon over a 24-hour period, including critical financial and logistical hubs.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan has operated in Lebanon since the 1980s, providing credit to Lebanese citizens in exchange for gold deposits.
While officially classified as a charity, Israeli and US officials argue that the firm is a critical asset in Hezbollah’s financial network, enabling the group to launder money and finance its activities under the guise of civilian banking.
Hezbollah’s source of income
As Israel claims it found $500 Million in “secret” Hezbollah bunker in Beirut, the Lebanese people and the Iranian regime are Hezbollah’s two main sources of income, Hagari claimed.
He alleged that the financial mechanisms used by the group, which include cash transfers through Syria and gold smuggled into Lebanon via Iran.
Factories operated by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Turkey are allegedly used to generate substantial income to support the group’s terror activities, according to IDF intelligence.
