The Israeli military has carried out a wave of airstrikes targeting branches of a financial institution affiliated with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, saying the quasi-banking system is being used to fund the militant group’s military wing.

Hasan, which functions as Hezbollah’s de facto banking arm but also operates as an alternative bank for Lebanese, were targeted around Beirut and across the country’s south and east.

Sirens have been sounding in the central Samaria region of Israel this morning, while Israel has maintained its bombardment of Lebanon.

Arrival of displaced people from southern areas of country spurs rising paranoia and raises fears of intercommunal violence

The escalation of Israel’s war against the militant group came as rescuers searched for dead and wounded after a devastating Israeli strike in northern Gaza. The aftermath of an overnight Israeli strike. Matthew Mpoke Bigg Mike Ives and Raja Abdulrahim The Israeli military conducted a wave of airstrikes across Lebanon on Sunday, targeting branches of Al-Qard al-Hasan, a financial association associated with Hezbollah. The association operates as a lender and financial services provider for civilians in many areas of Lebanon, where the traditional banking sector is in shambles. Many of its branches are situated on the ground floors of residential buildings. Israel warned people living near Al-Qard al-Hasan branches to evacuate, prompting many to flee. In a statement ahead of the strikes, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said the alternative banking system is “being used to finance Hezbollah’s terror activities.” Al-Qard al-Hasan was placed under U.S. sanctions in 2007 for operating as Hezbollah’s de facto banking arm. Earlier on Saturday, Israeli jets bombed a Hezbollah stronghold near the Lebanese capital, a day after a drone struck a building near the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, in what Mr. Netanyahu said was an assassination attempt by Hezbollah. The attacks came as Israel continued its renewed assault in northern Gaza against Hamas. Rescue workers in northern Gaza were searching for survivors on Sunday after a major overnight Israeli airstrike that Palestinian officials said killed or wounded dozens of people in the town of Beit Lahia.

By Amina Ismail, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Laila Bassam BEIRUT/CAIRO (Reuters) -Hundreds of Beirut residents fled their homes late on Sunday with multiple explosions heard across the Lebanese capital, as Israel prepared to attack sites linked to the financial operations of Lebanon's Hezbollah group and told people to leave those areas immediately.

Four people including a child have been killed in an Israeli air strike near the main government hospital in southern Beirut, the Lebanese health ministry says. The strike appeared to hit the car park of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital,