Israel attacks Al-Qard al-Hasan branches; The Lebanese president says he is ready to resume negotiations to stop the escalation.
Published March 9, 2026
The Israeli military attacked the Al-Qard al-Hasan financial institution in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after issuing a statement announcing that it would attack branches of the Hezbollah-affiliated charity.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported attacks on Monday on the Al-Qard al-Hasan building in the Bir al-Abed area of the southern Haret Hreik neighborhood and on another branch along the road to Beirut’s international airport.
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The quasi-banking system, which operates outside the Lebanese financial system to provide interest-free loans and other financial services, has been under US sanctions since 2007.
Lebanese authorities also blocked roads and diverted traffic leading to the Al-Qard al-Hasan branch in Nouairi, a neighborhood in central Beirut.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said residents were “living on the edge”. “While Israel has issued a warning, most of the time the attacks come without warning,” he said.
More attacks were reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been largely emptied of residents after Israel issued forced evacuation warnings last week. Those affected by the forced evacuation in southern Lebanon represent almost 8 percent of the country’s population.
The NNA said the Israeli airstrikes hit the neighborhoods of Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik, and the Safir area.
Unlike the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, the central neighborhood of Nouairi in central Beirut is densely populated and hosts many of the internally displaced people.
Khodr said local authorities told people in the area to leave. “But there is a school that houses displaced people nearby, and many of them have decided not to leave the area,” the journalist added.
President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that he had informed the United Nations and the international community of Lebanon’s readiness to resume negotiations to stop Israeli aggression.
Israel reached a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in November 2024, but continued near-daily violations that killed hundreds and injured many more.
Fighting broke out again after Israel and the United States launched a joint attack against Iran, a Hezbollah ally.
Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 400 people and displaced thousands across Lebanon since Hezbollah responded to the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by resuming cross-border attacks on March 2.
Lebanon’s social affairs minister said 517,000 people had been registered as displaced since the conflict resumed.
