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Hezbollah is facing an unprecedented financial crisis as Israel’s intensified offensive disrupts its key funding sources.
According to VOA News, three main cash pipelines for Hezbollah have been severely impacted by Israeli operations in recent weeks. The first and most significant is Al-Qard al-Hasan (AQAH), a quasi-banking institution operated by Hezbollah without an official Lebanese government license.
AQAH, originally founded in 1982 as a charitable organization providing interest-free loans to needy Lebanese Shiites, has grown into a major financial institution with branches throughout Hezbollah-controlled areas. Estimates by the US Treasury Department suggest that AQAH had amassed about half a billion dollars. However, Israeli airstrikes in southern Beirut last month allegedly destroyed the majority of Hezbollah’s AQAH vaults.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s commercial banking system is under immense pressure. Despite being insolvent on paper, these banks still hold significant cash reserves. However, many of Lebanon’s wealthiest bankers have fled the country, fearing potential targeting by Israel for their associations with Hezbollah.
“I’m hearing from Lebanese bankers, including Hezbollah financiers, that Lebanon’s wealthiest bankers who can afford to fly have fled to Europe and the Gulf, fearing they could be targeted next by Israel for helping Hezbollah,” say former US State Dept. official David Asher.
“These Lebanese bankers, most of them billionaires, see the wind is blowing against Hezbollah, so they are not going to let it take millions of dollars out of their banks, which still have cash despite being bankrupt on paper,” he said. “They know that if they do, Israel probably will eliminate them, too.”
Lastly, direct delivery of cash via flights to Beirut’s airport, particularly from Hezbollah’s patron Iran, has also been disrupted. In September, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced that Israeli warplanes had begun patrolling Beirut’s airspace and would not allow hostile flights to land. While Hagari specifically mentioned weapons, sources suggest that cash deliveries have also been affected.
Analysts in the report note that the terror group is “facing a very serious financial problem” and is now unable to pay rank-and-file members who have fled their homes. However, others caution that Hezbollah’s fanatical war against Israel depends more on the availability of food and ammunition than cash reserves.
