• IDF ordered to destroy all bridges over Litani River
• Key Qasmiyeh bridge near Tyre damaged in strikes
• Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemns attacks, calling them a ‘prelude to a ground invasion’

BEIRUT: The Israeli military on Sunday announced it was expanding its ground campaign in Lebanon, warning of a lengthy operation, after Beirut condemned what it called Israel’s flagrant violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

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 the 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.

International law generally prohibits militaries from attacking civilian infrastructure, and the United Nations human rights chief has criticised Israel’s actions in Lebanon, particularly its use of widespread evacuation orders that have displaced more than a million people.

Sunday’s strike damaged a crossing on Lebanon’s coastal highway that runs through farmland and is one of the main routes linking southern and central Lebanon.

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

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

“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 said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the strikes were a “prelude to a ground invasion” and amounted to a “policy of collective punishment against civilians.”

He said it would impede the delivery of humanitarian aid and could be part of “suspicious schemes” to pursue an expansion of Israel’s presence in Lebanese territory.

The operation against Hezb­ollah “has only begun… This is a prolonged operation”, Israeli general Eyal Zamir said in a statement. “We are now preparing to advance the targeted ground operations and strikes according to an organised plan,” he added.

In a separate statement, military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said the expansion of the ground operation would begin “within the coming week”.

According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, three strikes on the bridge near Tyre “caused extensive damage, rendering it unusable”. It later reported a fourth strike occurred.

The NNA said the strikes caused “damage to the electricity networks, in addition to serious damage to shops, orchards and parks adjacent to the bridge”.

Aoun said “targeting bridges over the Litani River… is an attempt to sever the geographical link between the area south of the Litani and the rest of Lebanon’s territory”.

The NNA also reported that Israeli forces were “blowing up a number of houses in the town of Taybeh” near the border with Israel.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel said rocket fire from Lebanon killed a civilian, but later announced it was investigating whether “the incident involved fire originating from IDF soldiers”.

Lebanon’s health ministry said four people were killed on Sunday in two strikes in the south, while authorities have reported 1,029 dead in three weeks of conflict and more than one million displaced.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the military to immediately destroy all the bridges over the Litani River.

Earlier, Israel attacked two bridges spanning the Litani, also alleging they were being used by Hezbollah.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2026