Amnesty says Israel strikes on Hizbollah-linked finance firm warrant war crime probe

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Human rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday that the Israeli military's bombing of branches of a Hizbollah-linked financial firm in Lebanon should be "investigated as a war crime".

The Al Qard Al Hassan firm, a lifeline for many Shiite Muslims and other Lebanese in the face of a years-long financial crisis, is sanctioned by Washington, which accuses Hizbollah of using it as a cover to gain access to the international financial system.

Israel accuses Al Qard Al Hassan of financing "Hizbollah's terrorist operations", and the Israeli military hit branches of the organisation across Lebanon late Sunday and early Monday.

"The Israeli military's targeting of branches" of Al Qard Al Hassan "likely violates international humanitarian law and must be investigated as a war crime", Amnesty said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Under the laws of war, branches of financial institutions are civilian objects unless they are being used for military purposes. Therefore, these attacks likely constitute a direct attack on civilian objects," it added.

The financial firm, officially registered as a charity, has been offering customers credit in exchange for gold deposits on an interest-free basis since the 1980s.

The United Nations on Monday condemned the Israeli strikes targeting Al Qard Al Hassan, saying they also caused "extensive damage" to civilian property and infrastructure.

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif told reporters on Tuesday that Al Qard Al Hassan was "a completely civilian institution registered by law, whose services are for all Lebanese without exception".

A senior Israeli intelligence official, briefing journalists on condition of anonymity, said the strikes were meant "to affect the trust between Hizbollah and a lot of the Shiite community that uses this system".

Amnesty's Erika Guevara Rosas said the Israeli military had "targeted an institution that serves as an economic lifeline for countless Lebanese civilians".

"This, along with an evacuation warning issued less than 40 minutes before the start of the strikes, shows Israel's disregard for international humanitarian law," she said in the statement.