Israel struck a main bridge connecting southern Lebanon to the rest of the country on Sunday (22), after ordering its military to destroy all crossings over the Litani River in Lebanon and intensifying the demolition of houses near the southern border.
The destruction of bridges and homes marks a significant escalation in Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, which was drawn into the regional war on March 2 when the Hezbollah armed group fired into Israeli territory.
International law generally prohibits military personnel from attacking civilian infrastructure, and the United Nations human rights chief has criticized Israel’s actions in Lebanon, especially its use of blanket disengagement orders.
Sunday’s attack pulverized an intersection on Lebanon’s coastal highway, which ran through farmland and was one of the main routes connecting southern and central Lebanon.
An Israeli military spokesman had announced that the army would attack the bridge early on Sunday.
Lama al-Fares, who lives on a farm adjacent to the crossing, said his family packed everything they could into their car when they saw the warning. They drove about a mile north on the highway and waited for the attack to end on top of a hill overlooking the highway.
‘Our house is right next to the bridge. It was destroyed in the last war and we rebuilt a basic structure to live in — I hope it’s still standing,’ she told Reuters.
Watch the video of the action:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Katz Sitting demanded that Israeli forces also destroy bridges and houses in the southern region of Lebanon, close to the border between the countries.
In a statement, Sitting said that the offensive follows the models of Beit Hanoun and Rafah, in Gaza. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I order the Israel Defense Forces to immediately destroy all bridges over the Litani River that are used for terrorist activities in order to prevent the passage of terrorists and Hezbollah weapons to the south and, furthermore, to accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes in contact villages to thwart threats to Israeli communities.”
(com Reuters)
