Israel destroyed a major bridge in southern Lebanon early Friday and dropped warning leaflets over Beirut threatening wider destruction as its military campaign against Hezbollah intensified.
The Zrarieh Bridge, which spans the Litani River, was struck in the early hours of Friday.
The Israeli military told Aljazeera that Hezbollah fighters were using the crossing to move between northern and southern Lebanon but did not provide evidence to support the claim.
The strike marked the first time Israel has publicly acknowledged targeting civilian infrastructure since the current offensive began.Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz signaled that additional strikes on infrastructure could follow.
He said the Lebanese government would face “increasing costs through damage to infrastructure and loss of territory” as long as Hezbollah remains armed.
Israeli attacks on Friday also expanded to parts of Beirut that had not previously been hit during the current conflict.
A drone struck a residential building in the Bourj Hammoud district in the northeastern suburbs of the capital. Separate airstrikes hit the Jnah and Nabaa neighborhoods, according to local officials.
In southern Lebanon, nine people, including five children, were killed in Arki, near the city of Sidon. Eight others were reported killed in the Fawwar area.
An ambulance was also struck in the south, Lebanese authorities said.Israel’s latest offensive began on March 2, after Hezbollah launched drones and rockets into northern Israel following Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
Since then, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed at least 773 people and wounded 1,933 others, including 103 children, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
The fighting has also triggered a large-scale displacement crisis. More than 800,000 people, roughly one in seven of Lebanon’s population, have been forced to flee their homes, the ministry said.
On Friday, Israeli aircraft also dropped leaflets over Beirut warning that Lebanon could face the same level of destruction seen in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing war there.“In light of the great success in Gaza, the newspaper of the new reality arrives to Lebanon,” the leaflet said.
The message referenced Israel’s two-year military campaign in Gaza, which has devastated much of the territory and displaced nearly its entire population.