Israel destroys main bridge in south Lebanon, orders demolition of homes near border

Israel struck a main bridge linking Lebanon's south to the rest of the country on Sunday after ordering its military to destroy all crossings over Lebanon's Litani River and to step up the demolition of homes near the southern border.

The destruction of bridges and homes marks a significant escalation in Israel's military campaign in Lebanon — which was pulled into the regional war on March 2 when Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah fired into Israeli territory after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 and assassinated its supreme leader.

International ​law generally prohibits militaries from attacking civilian infrastructure, and the United Nations human rights chief has criticized Israel's actions in Lebanon, particularly its use of widespread evacuation orders.

Sunday's strike pulverized a crossing on Lebanon's coastal highway that ran through farmland and was one of the main routes linking southern and central Lebanon.

An Israeli military spokesperson had announced the army would strike the bridge earlier on Sunday.

Lama al-Fares, who lives on farmland adjacent to the crossing, said her family packed whatever they could into their car when they saw the warning. They drove about a kilometre north on the highway and waited out the strike on a hilltop overlooking the highway.

"Our house is right next to the bridge. It was destroyed in the last war, and we had rebuilt a basic structure to live in — I hope it's still standing," she told Reuters.

Earlier, an Israeli was killed in his car near the border with Lebanon after what the military described as a "launch" from Lebanese territory. It was the first Israeli civilian death linked to fire from Lebanon in the current war. Two Israeli soldiers have also been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon.

Israel's strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people, including nearly 120 children, 80 women and 40 medical personnel, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Lebanese authorities do not otherwise distinguish between civilians and militants.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that the military had been ordered to destroy all bridges over the Litani River used for "terrorist activity," to prevent Hezbollah militants and weapons from moving south.

The Israeli military had already destroyed three bridges in southern Lebanon in the last 10 days.

Katz also said the military was ordered to accelerate the demolition of Lebanese homes in "front-line villages" to neutralize threats to Israeli communities.

He described the approach as similar to the model used in Beit Hanoun and Rafah in Gaza, where the military created buffer zones by clearing and demolishing buildings near the border.

Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters that international law requires armed actors to take into account the civilian harm caused by strikes on infrastructure like bridges, even if the targets were being used for military purposes.