JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli warplanes struck the Qasmiyeh Bridge over the Litani River in southern Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported, as Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes across the region.
The Israeli military confirmed the strikes, saying they targeted Hezbollah positions along the river, which at roughly 170 kilometers is Lebanon's longest and has long served as a key geographic boundary in conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah.
The attacks came after a Hezbollah rocket killed an Israeli civilian near the Israel-Lebanon border earlier Sunday, the first such death since the start of recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Two Israeli soldiers were also killed in Lebanon earlier this month.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the military to "immediately" destroy all bridges over the Litani used by Hezbollah. Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged residents on X to evacuate and move north of the Zahrani River ahead of the strikes on the Qasmiyeh Bridge, a major crossing near the Mediterranean coast.
Analysts said the attacks on the river's bridges suggested a possible expansion of Israel's ground operation in southern Lebanon.
Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said it killed Abu Khalil Barji, commander of the Special Forces in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in a strike Saturday in the Majdal Selm area. The military said Barji, a longtime Radwan commander, died alongside two other Hezbollah militants.
Israel has carried out intensive airstrikes in southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut since cross-border fire resumed earlier this month, after Hezbollah launched rockets in retaliation for Israel's killing of Iranian former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. ■
