West Asia crisis: What is Hezbollah-linked Al-Qard Al-Hassan group that Israel is targeting?

As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is escalating with each passing day, the Israeli military on Monday (Oct 21) targetedthe Lebanese branches of an association accused of financing Hezbollah.

The association has been identified as the Al-Qard Al-Hassan group. A report by the news agency Associated Press on Tuesday said that the strike (by Israel) targeted over a dozen branches ofthe Al-Qard Al-Hassan group.

What is theAl-Qard Al-Hassan group?

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The Associated Press report said thatAl-Qard Al-Hassanis officially a non-profit charity institution operating outside the Lebanese financial system, and one of the tools by whichHezbollah entrenches its support among the country’s Shiite population.

According to Israel, the institution finances arms purchases and is used to pay Hezbollah fighters.

The group was founded 40 years ago, soon after Hezbollah's inception.

Al-Qard Al-Hassan offersinterest-free loans and allows people to deposit gold as collateral in return for the credit, enabling them to pay for school fees and weddings, buy a car or open a small business, the report added.

Group provided lifeline for Lebanese people post-2019 financial collapse

Al-Qard al-Hasan has more than 30 branches around Lebanon. Following the country's 2019 financial collapse, the group provided a lifeline for many Lebanese people.

The Associated Press report pointed out that unlike banks around Lebanonthat imposed limits on how much people could withdraw from their bank accounts, people with deposits at al-Qard al-Hasan were still able to withdraw their cash.

The sanctions againstAl-Qard Al-Hassan

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against the group since 2007.

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In 2021, the USTreasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on seven individuals in connection with Hezbollah and al-Qard al-Hasan.

A year later, Washington slapped terrorism sanctions on two others, including al-Qard al-Hasan’s director, Adel Mansour, and two companies in Lebanon for providing Hezbollah with financial services.

The impact of Israeli strikes

The Israeli strikes on the branches ofAl-Qard al-Hasancame after several top leaders of Hezbollah, including its leader Hasan Nasrallah were killed (by Israel).

The report said that the Israeli offensive was bound toadd to the chaos and fears within Hezbollah’s base of support. However, experts told the Associated Press that the strikes wereunlikely to harm Hezbollah’s finances in and of itself.

Following the attacks,Al-Qard al-Hasan tried to reassure customers, saying in a statement that it had evacuated all its branches and relocated gold and other deposits to safe areas.

(With inputs from agencies)