ALBAWABA - According to Al-Jazeera, The Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes on Sunday night on the southern suburbs of Beirut and other targets, claiming the raids were intended to target buildings associated with Hezbollah's finance branch.
Before the attacks, the Israeli army warned that it will attack structures connected to the "Kard Hassan" group in the next several hours and urged locals to leave the area.
"We will strike multiple targets in the hours ahead," Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said at a press conference, adding that Lebanese citizens in Beirut and other locations would receive evacuation orders to protect them from locations allegedly used to fund Hezbollah's "terrorist operations."
Maps of buildings in the Bekaa Valley and southern Beirut that might be impacted by the attacks were distributed by the Israeli military, which advised locals to stay away from particular areas.
According to Israeli news agency Walla, the planned attack on Beirut's southern suburbs "will involve a considerable number of buildings."
According to the United States' 2007 sanctions on "Kard Hassan," Hezbollah uses it as a front to control its financial activities and get access to the international financial system.
Videos showing the large-scale civilian flight from Beirut after the threats of imminent assaults on "Kard Hassan" branches went viral on Lebanese social media.
Reports earlier in the day suggested that Israeli shelling on the southern Beirut neighborhood of Haret Hreik had resumed.
In anticipation of the attacks, the Israeli military had already sent out evacuation orders for a number of structures in the Hadath area and Haret Hreik.
