Israel hits Beirut after destroying key bridge to block Hezbollah reinforcements

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - BEIRUT, April 4 — The Israeli military said today it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group’s reinforcements from crossing.

An AFP journalist heard two loud explosions in the capital within half an hour early today and saw smoke billowing from one of them.

Local media reported two strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a locality that has been a target of Israeli strikes in recent days as the military presses on with its ground invasion in the country’s south.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Yesterday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said a blast at one of its positions in the country’s south near the border wounded three peacekeepers, the third similar incident in days.

Israel’s military had warned that it would target two adjacent bridges over the Litani River in the area “to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment”.

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) said: “Israeli warplanes targeted the bridge that links Sohmor with Mashghara, leading to its destruction.”

Lebanese local media reported that a second bridge was also hit.

The strikes in Sohmor continued into early today, with the NNA reporting the town’s centre being hit twice as warplanes roared in the skies.

Israel has previously struck five other bridges over the Litani in the country’s south, including most of the main routes crossing the waterway.

The river runs around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, an area where Israel has said it wants to maintain “security control”.

Also in Sohmor, two people were killed and 15 wounded in an Israeli strike that hit “as worshippers were leaving the town’s mosque” after Friday prayers, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Lebanese authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed in a month of hostilities.

‘No longer afraid’ 

UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said an explosion inside a UN position injured three peacekeepers, adding that the origin was unknown.

Israel’s army accused Hezbollah of launching a rocket that hit the post.

On the edge of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Christians marked Good Friday in Shiyah with a procession around Saint Maroun Church.

Resident Hala Farah, 62, said she had never before missed the religious rites, even during repeated conflicts in the country.

“We’re always here, we have to hold on for the future of our children,” she told AFP at the entrance to the overflowing church.

Another worshipper, Patricia Haddad, 32, said she was no longer afraid of the bombardments.

“We got used to it, unfortunately,” she said.

Israel’s army has said it has struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon since last month, while Hezbollah said it had carried out 1,309 operations against Israeli targets.

On Sunday, an Indonesian peacekeeper was killed when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position, while another blast the following day killed two more Indonesian troops.

According to the UN, 97 force members have been killed in violence since UNIFIL was first established to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in 1978.

The force’s mandate expires at the end of this year. — AFP