PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 22nd, 2024: Hundreds Of Millions In Hezbollah Gold Uncovered in Beirut & South Korea Mulls Military Deployment In Ukraine
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It's Tuesday, 22 October. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, we'll discuss Israel's campaign to degrade Hezbollah's finances as the IDF reveals that the terrorist organization is hiding half a billion dollars in gold and cash in a secret bunker beneath a major hospital in Beirut.

Well, jacking those fat stacks, that sounds like a great plot for a movie. Or maybe the citizens of Lebanon could take it upon themselves to liberate that treasure.

Then, South Korea may soon deploy military intelligence personnel inside Ukraine. What? To monitor the activity of North Korean troops, following reports that thousands of North Korean troops are fighting on behalf of Russia. Well, that's just a great idea. Let's move the DMZ over to eastern Ukraine. I don't see how any of this goes wrong. Look, frankly, I don't know if we're living in the stupidest of times, but we must be getting close.

But first, our afternoon spotlight. We'll begin in Lebanon, where Israel is expanding their military campaign to target the financial institutions supporting the Iranian-backed and funded Hezbollah's operations. Israel's campaign seeks not only to degrade the group's ability to launch attacks, but to undermine their social and political clout within Lebanon over the long term.

Strikes on Sunday and Monday hit more than 30 financial targets linked to Hezbollah, including multiple branches of Lebanon's al-Qaeda Hassan Bank, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Israeli officials said this bank is used to finance arms purchases and to store large sums of the group's reserves, including an underground vault of cash and gold. Now, while the strikes are certainly a financial blow, analysts said the bank is also an important symbol of Hezbollah's influence among Lebanon's Shiite Muslims, as Hezbollah uses it to provide social services, well, not to mention also to line their own pockets.

By targeting these sites, Israel aims to diminish Hezbollah's ability to maintain social and political support among the Shi'ite Muslim population of Lebanon.

As the campaign intensified on Monday, Israeli officials also revealed a tantalizing discovery. Hezbollah is allegedly hiding more than $500 million in cash and gold in a secret bunker underneath a major hospital in southern Beirut. Israeli officials said they had no plans to strike the Al-Sahail Hospital, but encouraged Lebanese authorities to inspect the site and

and ensure that the treasure trove cannot be used to finance terror. And that's according to a report from the New York Post.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF's senior spokesperson, said the half billion in reserves was deliberately placed under the hospital to protect it from potential airstrikes, which of course shows Hezbollah's total disregard for civilian lives. The bunker reportedly belonged to deceased Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and was designed for lengthy stays, kind of like a man cave bunker.

where he'd roll around in the fat stacks while singing all about the Benjamins by P. Diddy. Okay, fair go. I made up that last part. The hospital's director has denied the allegations and ordered an evacuation of the hospital, starting with a half billion, of course, despite Israel's assurances that it was not going to target the site.

Lebanese lawmakers associated with the Shiite community also denounce the allegations as false and slanderous, although I'll bet they're wondering just how they can get some of that bread. Publicly, they're all, nope, just false allegations and slander, but privately, they're all looking at each other and thinking, where's that bunker at?

Well, according to the Israeli military, the bunker is connected to the hospital by a shaft and contains several rooms that may serve as informal command posts for Hezbollah's operations. The bunker is also said to connect to another building several yards away from the hospital.

Israeli officials noted that the findings should demonstrate that Hezbollah has little interest in helping the local Shiite Muslim community or improving the lives of civilians in Lebanon, given the staggering sums allegedly located in the bunker. Rear Admiral Hagari said, quote, that money could have been used to rehabilitate Lebanon, but it went to rehabilitate Hezbollah.

Now, before we move on, a quick update on a story that we brought you yesterday on the attempted assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Apparently, one of the drones launched at his home in Caesarea on Saturday.

did actually manage to hit his bedroom window. Declassified images shared by Israeli authorities on Tuesday show extensive damage to the outside of the home, with bits of debris scattered across Netanyahu's backyard and shards of glass found floating in the outdoor pool.

The images also show a massive crack in Netanyahu's window and scorch marks on the wall. Officials said the drone was not able to breach Netanyahu's home due to protective measures such as reinforced glass. As a reminder, on Saturday, three drones were launched from Lebanon and crossed into Israeli airspace targeting Netanyahu's house on the Mediterranean coast. Two were intercepted, but the third eluded Israel's defenses.

According to the IDF, no one was at the residence at the time of the attack. A defiant Netanyahu blamed Iran for the attack on Sunday, saying, quote, The agents of Iran who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a bitter mistake. All right, coming up, we'll look at reports that South Korea may soon deploy military intelligence personnel inside Ukraine to monitor the activity of North Korean troops fighting for the Putin regime.

I'll be right back.

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South Korea is considering the deployment of military intelligence personnel to Ukraine to monitor North Korean troops that are reportedly fighting alongside Russia. Now, this comes in response to growing concerns from Seoul's intelligence community, which claims that Pyongyang deployed at least 1,500 soldiers to assist Moscow's war efforts.

On Friday, Seoul's National Intelligence Service reported North Korean soldiers have been training in Russia's Far East and are now reinforcing Russian troops on the front lines in Ukraine. Describing the deployment as "large scale," Seoul sees this as a troubling signal of Pyongyang's deepening military ties with Moscow.

This report follows an earlier warning from Ukrainian President Zelensky about North Korean troops training inside Russia. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Ukrainian intelligence officials notified Western leaders last week of North Korean troops joining the front lines, which led to near-immediate desertion upon arrival.

While a North Korean UN official dismissed the reports as, quote, groundless rumors, the Kremlin defended its cooperation with Pyongyang, insisting that it does not threaten South Korea's security. Regardless, Seoul is not sitting idly by. According to government sources quoted by Yonhap News Agency, South Korean intelligence agents are preparing to deploy to Ukraine.

Their mission would be to analyze the battlefield tactics of North Korean special forces and to assist in interrogating any captured soldiers. In addition to the intelligence mission, South Korea is reconsidering its broader support for Ukraine. Currently, Seoul provides logistical and humanitarian aid, but discussions are underway about potentially sending defensive and even lethal military aid.

South Korea condemned North Korea's alleged troop deployment, calling for the immediate withdrawal of its forces. Seoul warned, quote, phased countermeasures could follow, coordinated with its international allies, if the situation escalates. The U.S. echoed these concerns. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood called the reports of North Korean soldiers alongside Russians in Ukraine a, quote, dangerous and highly concerning development. And

emphasizing the growing military ties between the two regimes. Meanwhile, European leaders are debating over a response. The Lithuanian foreign minister revived the idea of deploying European troops to Ukraine. The proposal, originally floated by French President Macron in February, was quickly shut down by the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who assured no European or NATO troops would set foot in Ukraine.

However, the Lithuanian foreign minister believes the confirmation of North Korean involvement could change the calculus, stating, quote, we have to get back to boots on the ground.

Now, an Estonian politician shares this frustration. Rijo Terhas, the Estonian politician, criticized Europe for dragging its feet. Terhas argued the mere suggestion of European troops entering the conflict would add uncertainty for Russian President Putin, describing reliance on foreign troops as a sign of desperation.

Despite calls for action, European leaders remain cautious, of course, of a broader regional conflict. Well, that does make sense.

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, 22 October. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And don't forget to listen to the show ad-free. Well, it is very easy. All you have to do is become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. See? Very easy.

And, of course, you can always check out the PDB on our YouTube channel, at President's Daily Brief, and all podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.