Israel’s military has threatened to destroy more bridges in southern Lebanon in what observers say is an attempt to cut the area off from the rest of the country as Israeli forces press forward with a devastating ground invasion.
In a social media post on Friday, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said the military planned to bomb the Sohmor and Mashghara bridges over the Litani River in the western Bekaa Valley, claiming they are being used by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
“These are two main bridges – the main arteries for goods, for people, for movement – between the rest of Lebanon and the western Bekaa,” Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reported from Tyre in southern Lebanon.
“If these bridges are destroyed, it will essentially isolate the western Bekaa from the rest of Lebanon. It will make it extremely difficult for people trying to cross into the western Bekaa Valley and reach the main hub of Chtoura, to reach hospitals and other public services.”
Hitto said Israel has destroyed at least six other bridges over the Litani River since the start of its intensified aerial and ground offensive in Lebanon in early March.
The bombing of bridges and other civilian infrastructure across southern Lebanon has been widely condemned. Rights groups have warned that Israel appears to be trying to isolate the region.
A deepening ground invasion launched by the Israeli military last week also has spurred widespread concern as Israeli leaders have said they plan to demolish scores of residential homes.
“As Israeli troops try to shore up their control of these towns and villages in the south of the country, … they could actually isolate southern Lebanon from the western Bekaa and the western Bekaa from the rest of Lebanon,” Hitto said.
Earlier on Friday, the South Lebanon Water Establishment said Israeli strikes damaged key water infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
In a statement shared by the country’s National News Agency (NNA), the civilian water authority said facilities in Ibl al-Saqi and al-Maysat suffered significant damage while solar power systems were also affected at other stations in the area.
“The targeting of vital facilities, especially water facilities, is a clear and explicit violation of all international conventions and norms that require the neutrality of institutions and facilities that provide basic services to civilians from acts of war,” the authority said.
NNA also reported that at least four people were killed across the country in Israeli attacks on Friday, including a strike that targeted worshippers leaving a mosque in the western Bekaa town of Sahmar, killing two people.
The Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, which began on March 2 after Hezbollah fired missiles into northern Israel in response to the United States-Israeli war on Iran, has forced more than 1.2 million people from their homes.
Israel’s attacks have killed at least 1,345 people and wounded more than 4,000 across the country, according to the latest figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
At least three United Nations peacekeepers also were killed in southern Lebanon this week as the violence has escalated during Israel’s deepening invasion.
A spokesperson for the UN’s peacekeeping force, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said on Friday that three peacekeepers were wounded – two of them seriously – due to an explosion at a UN position near al-Adaissah, a village near the Israel-Lebanon border.
“They are all currently being evacuated to hospital. We do not yet know the origin of the explosion,” Kandice Ardiel said in a statement shared on Telegram.
“UNIFIL reminds all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers, including by avoiding combat activities nearby that could put them in danger.”