Hezbollah is hiding $500 million in gold and cash in a secret bunker formerly run by its killed chief Hassan Nasrallah under a hospital in Beruit, Israel has claimed.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, revealed a graphic photo and a video simulation of the structure, but said that the Jewish nation had no plans of targeting it.
"The bunker was deliberately placed under a hospital, and it holds more than half a billion dollars in cash and gold. That money could have been used to rehabilitate Lebanon, but it went to rehabilitate Hezbollah," he said.
Hagari urged Lebanese officials to take action against Hezbollah and inspect the facility. "I’m calling on the Lebanese government, Lebanese authorities and the international organisations: Don’t allow Hezbollah to use the money for terror and to attack Israel," he said.
The IDF has accused Hezbollah, along with Hamas, of using hospitals, schools, and other sensitive sites to hide weapons and shelter fighters.
Hagari also explained how Iran finances Hezbollah's operations, including the role of Al-Qard Al-Hasan, Hezbollah's financial arm, which provides services to civilians and pays its operatives.
The Lebanese people and the Iranian regime are Hezbollah's two main sources of income, Hagari claimed. He alleged that the financial mechanisms used by the group, which include cash transfers through Syria and gold smuggled into Lebanon via Iran.
Factories operated by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Turkey are allegedly used to generate substantial income to support the group's terror activities, he stated.
He said that the bunker is connected with two other buildings which are used as entrances and exits. According to the IDF, the bunker is equipped with beds and rooms for long stays, serving as a command centre for operations.
He called on the people of Lebanon to not allow Hezbollah to store its funds under a hospital. Hagari added that Israel's fight wasn't against the civilians but against the Iran-backed terror group that uses the Lebanese people as shields while carrying out attacks on Israel.
"Our war is not against the citizens of Lebanon - but against a murderous terrorist organisation which continues to arm itself and align itself with the interests of the Islamic Republic regime. We will continue to work to create security that will allow the return of our residents of the north to their homes," he said.
Meanwhile, Hagari claimed that Israel struck a Hezbollah bunker on Monday holding tens of millions of dollars worth of cash and gold during strikes aimed at the group's financial network.
