Israel’s military has claimed to have found a bunker full of “cash and gold” belonging to former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah under a hospital in southern Beirut. The spokesman for the military, Daniel Hagari, made this claim without providing any evidence. The bunker was allegedly discovered under the Sahel General Hospital in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood, which is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. The hospital’s director, Fadi Alameh, denied the presence of tunnels under the hospital and stated that the facility is now being evacuated.
Alameh, who also represents the area around the hospital in the Lebanese parliament, has called for the Lebanese army and other institutions to inspect the area and verify the existence of any underground spaces. He emphasized that Sahed General Hospital is a private medical center with underground operating theatres, which has been in the area for 42 years and is not affiliated with any political group. In addition to the bunker discovery, Hagari accused Iran of sending “suitcases of cash and gold” to the Iranian embassy in Beirut, which he claimed directly funds Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes have targeted branches of a financial institution linked to Hezbollah, Al-Qard Al-Hasan, in an effort to disrupt the financial network supporting the group. One strike resulted in the destruction of a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch of the financial institution inside. The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings prior to the strikes to minimize casualties. While Israeli forces have stated that they will not target the Sahel General Hospital, a separate Israeli airstrike near Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital resulted in the deaths of four people and injuries to 24 others.
As Israel escalates its strikes in Lebanon and launches invasions, Hezbollah has responded by firing rockets into central Israel. On Tuesday, the group launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in populated areas. The IDF reported that most of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system, with one landing in an open area. Additionally, about 15 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel around the same time. This exchange of fire marks an escalation in tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
