Photo showing the rubble of a building identified as the headquarters of the BDL in Nabatiyeh, South Lebanon, on June 20, 2026. (Credit: Photo shared by Muntasser Abdallah)
Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank) on Saturday denounced an Israeli "direct and deliberate" strike against its branch in the city of Nabatieh, in the south, where Israel has stepped up its attacks despite a cease-fire announced the previous day.
A photo obtained by our correspondent in south Lebanon, shows the BDL headquarters in the city completely destroyed.
"Israeli forces directly targeted a branch of Banque du Liban in Nabatieh," the BDL said in a statement, condemning what it called a "deliberate attack ... against an official building" that it considers "inseparable from Lebanese state institutions." The building was empty at the time of the strike and only suffered material damage, according to the statement.
Souhaid, contacted Lebanese authorities, including President Joseph Aoun, and an official complaint was filed with the "relevant mechanisms" to condemn the attack and request an investigation.
The central bank "calls upon the United States and friendly countries" to "guarantee the protection of civilians" as well as "Lebanese official institutions, and to preserve them ... from the ongoing conflict," the institution added in its statement.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire on Israel on March 2. Since then, Israeli operations in Lebanon have killed 4,057 people, according to the latest tally from the health ministry on Saturday.
Despite a new cease-fire announced Friday following the protocol of agreement signed by Tehran and Washington, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to clash since Monday in the Nabatieh region.
