The Israel Defense Forces claimed late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's gold-filled bunker is located underneath a Beirut hospital, which hospital officials said was being evacuated Monday out of an abundance of caution.
"There are millions of dollars in gold and cash in Hassan Nasrallah's bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital -- in the heart of Beirut," IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a video address Monday.
The IDF released 3D renderings of the hospital building and the bunker it said belonged to Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut last month, but has not provided tangible proof. Hagari said the Israeli air force is monitoring the site but added, "We will not strike the hospital itself."
"We are not at war with the people of Lebanon. We are at war with Hezbollah," he said.
Following Hagari's remarks, Lebanese hospital officials said the hospital is being evacuated out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the patients. Lebanese Parliament member Fadi Alameh, the owner of the hospital, said he has requested that the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon investigate the Israeli allegations.
Lebanese official Wiam Wahhab said the "talk of weapons depots" at the hospital "is illogical and false."
"This points to the beginning of targeting hospitals, and the army must deploy around the hospital and protect it," he said.
Dr. Youssef Bakhash, the president of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, told the Lebanese media group Al Jadeed that the "pretext of the existence of tunnels and funds beneath Sahel Hospital is aimed at targeting and disrupting the healthcare sector."
