BEIRUT: Karim Souaid, the governor of Lebanon’s central bank, on Tuesday banned banks and other organizations from doing business with Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial institution affiliated with Hezbollah.

Seen as a major step by the Lebanese state, the move coincided with the launch by the Israeli army of more than 10 surprise raids on targets in western and eastern mountain ranges of the Bekaa Valley. The Lebanese Ministry of Health said six people were wounded in the strikes.

A subsequent raid struck a well-drilling machine in the border town of Wadi Faara, killing 12 people, including five Lebanese nationals and seven Syrians from the same family, and injuring several more. Israeli strikes also hit the towns of Bodai, Kasarnaba, Shmistar and Brital. One missile landed near Shmistar Secondary School while exams were taking place, shattering windows and causing panic and distress among students.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sent a clear message to Hezbollah, as he accused the organization of attempting to rebuild its forces to threaten his country.

A resident of Shmistar told Arab News the areas targeted by the attacks were “abandoned sites.” The Israeli army said its fighter jets, “guided by the Intelligence Directorate and Northern Command,” had targeted military compounds in the Bekaa Valley affiliated with Hezbollah.

Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, said the strikes focused on camps that were used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force to store weapons and train for attacks against Israeli forces. Hezbollah members and weapons depots were identified at the sites, he added, as he accused the militant group of violating the November 2024 ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile, Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, said: “Lebanese financial institutions are banned from providing or facilitating financial, monetary or transfer services or brokerage services in favor of unlicensed institutions, companies and associations.”

The statement specifically identified “Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, Tasheelat S.A.L., Al-Yusr for Finance and Investment, Bayt Al-Mal Lil Muslimin, and any entity listed on international sanctions lists.”

The ban also covers “establishing or implementing financing, leasing or lending arrangements, or facilitating access for such entities or their branches to the Lebanese banking system, in any currency.”

The central bank said the decision was part of “preventive measures aimed at protecting Lebanon’s financial and economic sectors from dealing with unlicensed or internationally sanctioned entities.”

It continued: “Violations of this decision will trigger strict legal action, which may include the suspension or revocation of licenses, freezing of accounts and assets, and referral to the Special Investigation Commission.”

The US Department of State designates Hezbollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. It has imposed sanctions on Al-Qard Al-Hassan and affiliated officials, and accused them this month of facilitating attempts by Hezbollah to evade sanctions and enable Al-Qard Al-Hassan to conduct millions of dollars of transactions through “shadow” accounts. Israeli forces struck branches of the institution during the war against Hezbollah last year.

In other developments, during a plenary session, members of the Lebanese parliament criticized delays by the government in efforts to ensure possession of weapons is restricted to state forces; its failure to disclose a US proposal for a mechanism to implement the ceasefire agreement with Israel and UN Resolution 1701; for diluting the issue of recovery of depositors’ funds in Lebanese banks; and for failing to resolve the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Resolution 1701 was adopted by the Security Council in 2006 with the aim of resolving the conflict that year between Israel and Hezbollah. It calls for an end to hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other forces from parts of the country south of the Litani River, and the disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed groups.

The criticisms from opposition MPs came during a discussion about the performance of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government after its first 150 days in office.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan condemned “the government’s failure to set a timetable for dismantling and handing over weapons and imposing sovereignty.”

He added: “The government must move quickly to end the presence of military structures on Lebanese territory. No one can hope for the return of Arab and international relations to Lebanon if this is not done,” given that “the government is unable to protect the UNIFIL (the UN’s Interim Force in Lebanon peacekeeping mission) forces that support Lebanon.”

MP Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, said: “The current authority is acting as a bystander, neither starting to disarm nor to take possession of the weapons. What is happening is a process of buying time until a US-Iranian agreement takes place.

“The question is, if that does not happen, do we remain like this? Instead of taking the initiative to present a Lebanese paper to address this issue, we wait for the US paper and discuss what can be done with it.”

Independent MP Michel Moawad said: “Lebanon is facing a historic opportunity to address weapons and the military groups outside state control, rebuild the nation and break free from isolation.

“While the government’s stance is good, it lacks implementation. The opportunity is present now; failure to act will lead to further occupation, destruction and isolation, and ultimately everything will be lost.”

Fouad Makhzoumi, also an independent MP, expressed regret that “the government’s decision has devolved into negotiating with every weapon outside the state’s authority.”

He added: “What is required of those who carry weapons is to hand them over to the state. Those bearing arms are required to surrender them to the state, enabling it to defend itself against the threat of war, have the means to recover and liberate the five points from the renewed occupation (by Israeli forces), secure the return of prisoners, and initiate negotiations to delineate the Blue Line.”

He urged the government to “fully implement the ceasefire agreement, the Taif Agreement and Resolution 1701 in all its provisions, and to mandate the army to prevent any of the repeated and systematic attacks on UNIFIL.”

Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Al-Moussawi criticized what he described as a failure to provide the Lebanese army with “weapons to protect the homeland against the enemy.”

He said: “We are among the first advocates for a just Lebanese state for all its citizens but where is this state? We do not question anyone’s patriotism and the army is our army, but there is a foreign ‘veto’ that prevents arming the army.

“Lebanon has fully implemented all its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, while Israel has failed to implement a single clause.”

He warned that “whoever thinks they are dealing with others based on a political logic of victors and vanquished is a traitor to Lebanon,” and added: “What we are witnessing is an existential threat, and any understanding on any other basis will put us all in a circle of loss.”

QARAOUN, Lebanon: Water levels at Lebanon’s largest reservoir on the Litani River have fallen to historic lows amid what experts describe as the country’s worst drought on record, threatening agriculture, electricity production, and domestic water supplies.

The Litani River National Authority said inflows to Lake Qaraoun during this year’s wet season did not exceed 45 million cubic meters, a fraction of the 350 million cubic meters annual average.

Last year, the figure stood at 230 million. The water currently available in Lake Qaraoun — around 61 million cubic meters — was unusable due to severe pollution, the authority said.

“There were dry years in 1989, 1990 and 1991, but this year is the driest,” said Sami Alawieh, head of the river authority. “We are facing a water scarcity problem across all Lebanese territories and water basins.”

Drone footage of Lake Qaraoun shows a dramatically receded shoreline, exposing cracked earth and dead vegetation.

Lebanon’s hydroelectric plants tied to the Litani basin have been shut down, Alawieh said, causing financial losses and intensifying electricity rationing by Electricite du Liban.

“We have two factors: the decline in rainfall and the pressure on groundwater,” he said.

A study by the authority found climate warming and shifting weather patterns have contributed to more frequent dry seasons and higher temperatures, exacerbating soil moisture loss and reducing the recharging of groundwater reservoirs.

The state utility has slashed supply in some areas from 20 hours a day to as little as 10.

In the fertile area around Qaraoun village, in the Bekaa Valley, farmers were already feeling the impact.

“I have never seen such drought or scarcity of rain as this year,” said Safa Issa. “We used to get snow up to a meter high. Now, it’s been 10 years since we’ve seen any.”

The strain has been compounded by erratic supply of electricity needed to run irrigation systems.

“You irrigate for three hours, then stop for three,” said Fayez Omais, another local farmer.

Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to the Ministry of Energy and Water in Beirut, said a nationwide awareness campaign to reduce consumption would be launched within 10 days.

“The most important thing is to manage demand,” she said.