(CNN) Germany announced Thursday it has designated the Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah a terror organization, banning all of its activities in the country and ordering raids on sites police say are linked to the group.

Police told CNN a number of properties in Berlin, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia were searched early on Thursday. According to the police and the German Interior Ministry, four mosques and cultural associations were raided, as well as private homes of their board members, treasurers and tax advisers.

Police investigate the Hezbollah-linked Imam Mahdi center in Muenster, western Germany, on Thursday.

"The associations under investigation are suspected of forming part of Hezbollah due to their financial support and propaganda for the terrorist organization," the Interior Ministry said in a statement posted on its website. It added the searches were conducted to "ensure that evidence of potential sub-organizations in Germany could not be destroyed when this ban was announced."

The move to ban Hezbollah's activities in Germany comes after a sustained campaign by the United States and Israel. Last December, the German parliament approved a motion. It has argued for Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to ban the group's activities in Germany.

The ban could hit Lebanon's coronavirus response Analysis by Tamara Qiblawi Germany's move to classify Hezbollah as a terror group could have a direct impact on Lebanon's response to the coronavirus. Here's how: The European Union, so far, distinguishes between the group's political and military wings, with the latter only classified as a terror group. By making this distinction, the EU can legally engage with democratically elected officials from the organization, in addition to Hezbollah-linked ministries in Lebanon. Two of the country's 20 ministers are affiliated with the group. Lebanon's Health Minister Hassan Hamad, who has spearheaded a largely successful campaign to stem the spread of the virus, is backed by Hezbollah. If the EU chooses to follow Germany's lead, it could potentially deprive the country's struggling health sector of badly needed funds, and reignite a coronavirus crisis. This would happen as Lebanon grapples with its worst financial crisis in decades, and as social unrest hits the country's major cities again for the first time in months.

"As the authority responsible for issuing the ban, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community is of the opinion that Hezbollah openly calls for the violent elimination of the State of Israel and questions the right of the State of Israel to exist," the ministry said in the statement.

Read More