Hezbollah ‘hoarding $500m in money bunker under hospital’, Israel claims

The treasure trove was funnelled from Iran as part of an arrangement with ex-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, IDF says

Hezbollah is hiding hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold in a “money bunker” under a hospital in Beirut, according to Israel’s military.
The treasure trove was funnelled from Iran, the IDF claimed, as part of an arrangement with the terror group’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel has been keen to demonstrate that Hamas and Hezbollah hide their facilities among civilians after weeks of pressure from the US over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and its strikes on populated areas of Lebanon.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Monday that Nasralla’s bunker, which is estimated to contain at least half a billion in US dollar bills and gold, is located under the Al-Sahel Hospital in Hezbollah’s stronghold of Dahiyeh in Beirut.
Mr Hagari called on the Lebanese government and other countries “not to allow Hezbollah to use the money for terror”.
In a warning to Hezbollah or any opportunist criminals, Mr Hagari added: “The Israeli air force is monitoring the compound.”
Iran transfers money to Hezbollah from oil sold in Syria, Mr Hagari claimed, adding that Tehran sends “suitcases of cash and gold in planes to the Iranian embassy in Beirut”.
“This money could and still can be used to rebuild the state of Lebanon. In recent years, the state of Lebanon has experienced a deep financial crisis, which was exploited by Hezbollah,” he added.
Mr Hagari claimed Hezbollah has built factories in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Turkey which “provide income for its terrorist operations”. He said the influx of cash and gold from this network “devalues the Lebanese pound”.
The hospital’s director, Fadi Alameh, who is also a Lebanese MP associated with the Shia Amal party, an ally of Hezbollah, denied Israel’s accusations. He invited the Lebanese Army to visit the site and check for the Hezbollah bunker.
Mr Alemeh said the hospital had no links to Hezbollah and that underground rooms are used for surgeries. He added the hospital was being evacuated despite Israel saying it would not strike the facility.
On Tuesday, the hospital invited journalists to tour its underground rooms in a bid to show they did not contain a terrorist “money bunker”.
Lebanese TV showed reporters looking underneath sheets and hospital beds for signs of hidden Hezbollah cash. Others were filmed looking inside morgue drawers, which had been left open for journalists to view.
The BBC said it was allowed to look inside a room containing medical waste, and that doctors opened up boxes of equipment and surgical scrubs. “Hospital staff are adamant that there is no hidden bunker,” Orla Guerin, a senior international correspondent, said.
The “money bunker” claim emerged as the IDF has been attacking the terror group’s financial network across the country.
On Sunday, it announced the military was about to attack Hezbollah’s financial wing, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, calling on civilians to evacuate from areas close to its banks and offices.
The Israeli air force has since struck 30 facilities associated with Al-Qard Al-Hassan in southern, central and northern Lebanon, most of which were in Beirut.
Mr Hagari revealed on Monday that one of the main targets, a different underground vault with “tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold” had been struck. The vault was “deliberately located” under a residential building, he added.
Nasrallah himself was killed last month when an IDF “bunker buster” bomb hit a fortified Hezbollah chamber located 60ft under a building in Beirut.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan was established in 1983 and was sanctioned by the US in 2007 for operating as Hezbollah’s financial wing.
In 2021, the US imposed further sanctions on seven individuals connected to the banking system.
The US has accused Al-Qard Al-Hassan of hoarding currency that is “desperately needed by the Lebanese economy” and allowing Hezbollah to “build its own support base and compromise the stability of the Lebanese state”.
On Monday, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant designated Al-Qard Al-Hassan as a terror organisation.
“Hezbollah’s bank is used to purchase weapons, pay the salaries of terrorists, and keep Hezbollah’s terror machine going,” he said.
“Degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities requires both a military and economic campaign. We are destroying the terrorist organisation’s ability to both launch and buy missiles.”