Middle East conflict: Explosions in Beirut after Israel warns of night strikes

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Hundreds of people in Beirut fled their homes as about a dozen explosions were heard in the Lebanese capital on Sunday evening, shortly after Israel announced it would attack targets linked to the financial operations of the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

About an hour later, on Sunday, explosions occurred in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said evacuation warnings would be issued for people in parts of Beirut and that “anyone who is near the sites used to finance Hezbollah's terrorist activities must stay away from them immediately.” The first warnings affected southern Beirut and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Eyewitnesses said a building in the Chiyah district of Beirut's southern suburbs was reduced to rubble and the few people in the area fled the explosion, meaning there were no injuries.

Panicked crowds clogged streets and caused traffic jams in some parts of Beirut as they tried to get to neighborhoods considered safer, a witness told Reuters.

Israel said the attacks targeted branches of the interest-free loan association Al-Qard al-Hassan, which the U.S. said Hezbollah used to pay activists and buy weapons “across Lebanon.”

Its name means “the benevolent credit” in Arabic and Hezbollah has used it to shore up its support among the Shiite population in a country where government and financial institutions have failed in recent years.

The institution has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs.

Al-Qard al-Hassan called the decision to target it a sign of Israel's “bankruptcy” in a statement and assured customers that it had taken “measures” to ensure the safety of their funds.

The registered nonprofit, which has been sanctioned by both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, is also used by ordinary Lebanese.

A senior Israeli intelligence official said the purpose of this attack was to “attack Hezbollah's ability (to function economically) both during the war and afterward to rebuild and rearm the day after.”

An Israeli attack destroyed a building housing one of the institution's branches in Baalbek, deep in Lebanon, Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen reported.

The scope of Israel's new evacuation warnings was not immediately clear.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel said it had hit Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters and an underground weapons workshop in Beirut.

A year of escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah over the Gaza war spilled into open war last month, and Israel sent ground troops to Lebanon earlier this month.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 2,464 people were killed and 11,530 injured in Israeli airstrikes.

Israel's announcement came a day after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called civilian casualties in Lebanon in the war between Israel and Hezbollah “far too high” and called on Israel to scale back some attacks, particularly in and around Beirut.

Iran supports Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and the United States is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents showing that Israel was positioning military assets for a military strike in response to Iran's Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack, according to reports three US officials.

The announcement came as the Lebanese army said three soldiers were killed in an Israeli attack on its vehicle in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

The Israeli military did not comment. The Israeli military said it struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon last day and continued ground operations there.

The Lebanese army remained largely on the sidelines of the war. The military is a respected institution in Lebanon, but not powerful enough to impose its will on Hezbollah or protect the country from an Israeli invasion.

According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah fired more than 170 rockets into the country on Sunday. Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom said three people were slightly injured in a fire sparked by a rocket attack on the northern city of Safed.

Israel has stepped up attacks on the southern neighborhoods of Beirut known as Dahiyeh, a crowded residential area where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

It is also home to many civilians not affiliated with the militant group.

Additional reporting by agencies