Qasmiyeh Bridge obliterated as Israel intensifies campaign to sever southern Lebanon, citing Hezbollah supply routes.
An Israeli airstrike has destroyed the Qasmiyeh Bridge, the last remaining operational crossing over Lebanon’s Litani River, effectively cutting off large parts of southern Lebanon from the rest of the country and raising fears of a deepening humanitarian and logistical crisis.
Local residents and officials described scenes of devastation, with the once-vital bridge reduced to rubble and a deep crater where the structure once stood. The bridge linked the southern city of Tyre to Sidon and onward to Beirut, serving as a critical artery for people, goods and emergency aid.
Movement between the south and northern regions is now severely restricted, complicating access to food, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance.
Strategic targeting or collective punishment?
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying the bridge was used by Hezbollah to move fighters and weapons into southern Lebanon. Defence Minister Israel Katz had ordered the destruction of bridges over the Litani River used for what Israel calls “terrorist activity,” aiming to block resupply routes and establish a buffer zone south of the river.
Israeli officials consider the Litani a strategic red line and say Hezbollah must be pushed north in line with UN Resolution 1701. Some politicians have even called for a de facto border at the river with a security zone under Israeli control.
Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah condemned the strikes as collective punishment targeting civilians, while rights groups warned that repeated attacks on crossings could cut off essential services and worsen the humanitarian crisis in southern Lebanon.
Israeli Campaign Disrupts Key Crossings Over Litani:
The strike on the Qasmiyeh Bridge is the latest in a systematic series of attacks. Israel has targeted at least nine bridges and crossings over the Litani and its tributaries since early March, with several struck multiple times. Earlier strikes hit the Zrarieh, Al-Dalafa and other key links, progressively isolating southern villages and towns.
Analysts say the campaign serves dual purposes: disrupting alleged Hezbollah logistics and preparing the ground for possible expanded ground operations or the establishment of a long-term security buffer. Evacuation orders have already been issued for areas both south and, in some cases, north of the Litani.
Lebanese officials described the latest destruction as a “tactical blow” that leaves entire districts cut off. One local resident told reporters: “Now no one can go down or up. Everything is blocked.”
Southern Lebanon Faces Deepening Isolation:
Aid organisations are struggling to deliver supplies as roads and bridges in southern Lebanon become increasingly unusable. The Litani River region, long a flashpoint in Lebanon-Israel tensions, has seen intensified fighting and major infrastructure damage since the latest escalation.
Lebanon’s government has urged international pressure on Israel to stop targeting civilian infrastructure, but the conflict continues to escalate.
With the Qasmiyeh crossing blocked by rubble, southern Lebanon is becoming more isolated, and the Litani River once again stands as a dividing line in a deepening crisis with no clear resolution.