An Israeli strike has severed the last bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, a senior Lebanese security official told Reuters on Thursday, adding that the strike “shattered” the bridge and left no possibility of repairing it.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that “enemy warplanes carried out two consecutive strikes targeting the Qasmieh bridge, the remaining crossing linking the Tyre area to the city of Sidon, completely destroying it.”
The agency also said that Lebanon’s main highway linking Beirut and Damascus was closed on Thursday after an air strike targeted a car, killing one person.
Since March 2, the Israeli army has successively destroyed four main bridges over the Litani River, which divides southern Lebanon into two parts.
Two days ago, the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel in Washington met at the US State Department to discuss announcing a ceasefire and setting a date to begin negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices.
Lebanon’s president had launched an initiative on March 9 based on a full truce, a halt to all Israeli attacks, support for the Lebanese army, the army’s control over areas of tension and confiscation of all weapons there, and the start of negotiations with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the two neighboring countries.
