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Lebanese FM Kicks off European Tour in Pursuit of Ceasefire

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Lebanese FM Kicks off European Tour in Pursuit of Ceasefire

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib kicked off on Sunday a European tour in pursuit of a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah and to garner support for the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

He will visit Italy, France, Spain and the Vatican.

Israel’s war on Hezbollah is in its fourth week and efforts have so far failed in reaching a ceasefire.

US envoy Amos Hochstein and Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit are meanwhile expected in Beirut on Monday.

In Italy, Bou Habib will take part in a G7 meeting at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani.

He will explain Lebanon’s position in calling for a ceasefire and ending the Israeli hostilities through the full implementation of resolution 1701 and bolstering the deployment of the army south of the Litani River.

He will also ask for immediate humanitarian aid for the 1.2 million people who have been displaced by the fighting.

In Paris, he will hold talks with senior UNESCO officials to discuss means to protect Lebanese heritage sites and the education sector.

On Thursday, he will join caretaker Prime Minister and the Lebanese delegation at the Paris conference on Lebanon.

Bou Habib will be in Barcelona on Sunday and Monday to attend the Union for the Mediterranean foreign ministers meeting before returning to Beirut.

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Lebanon Assesses Damage after Israel Strikes Hezbollah-run Financial Institution

Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Lebanon Assesses Damage after Israel Strikes Hezbollah-run Financial Institution

Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese were surveying the damage on Monday after overnight Israeli strikes hit nearly a dozen branches of a Hezbollah-run financial institution that Israel says is used to fund attacks but where many ordinary people keep their savings.

The strikes targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches in the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it. Smoke rose from several locations on Monday.

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes. There were no reports of casualties, The AP reported.

Israel invaded Lebanon earlier this month, saying it aims to push Hezbollah from the border after more than a year of rocket, missile and drone attacks that began after Palestinian Hamas militants launched their surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israeli airstrikes have pounded large areas of Lebanon for weeks, forcing over a million people to flee their homes.

The United States is hoping to revive diplomatic efforts to resolve both conflicts after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip last week, but so far all sides appear to be digging in.

Hezbollah-run lender filled gaps left by Lebanon's troubled banks The Arabic language spokesman for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said warplanes targeted several locations “used to store money for the military arm of Hezbollah," including Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which he said finances arms purchases and is used to pay fighters.

He said Hezbollah stores hundreds of millions of dollars in the branches, without providing evidence, and that the strikes were aimed at preventing the group from rearming.

The institution has more than 30 branches across Lebanon. It tried to reassure customers, saying it had evacuated all branches and relocated gold and other deposits to safe areas.

Many customers are civilians unaffiliated with Hezbollah. The registered nonprofit has long served as an alternative to Lebanon's banks, which have imposed restrictions in the face of a severe financial crisis that began in 2019.

Bulldozers cleared mounds of rubble at the site of one strike. Clothes, furniture and the remains of a beauty salon were seen in the debris. Al-Qard al-Hassan documents were scattered across the area, but there was no sign of cash or other valuables.