Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has ordered combat jets to destroy 'immediately' all bridges over the Lebanese Litani River, which would totally isolate a strip of southern Lebanon from the rest of the country, according to a statement that also notes Israel seeks to accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes on the border. 'Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to destroy immediately all bridges over the Litani River,' Katz said in a statement, claiming they are used for the smuggling of weapons and members of Hezbollah to the south. Additionally, Katz stated that the Israeli army also seeks to 'accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes' in the border villages 'following the model of Beit Hanoun and Rafah in Gaza'; in reference to two cities in the Palestinian Strip practically wiped off the map after the Israeli offensive, described by much of the international community as 'genocide'. Specifically, the military's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, detailed today on X that one of the routes to be attacked will be the Qasamiyeh bridge, which was already bombed last Thursday injuring a journalist and a cameraman from the Russian TV channel RT. According to what Lebanon's National News Agency (ANN) reported at the time, Israeli jets attacked the Qasmieh bridge, 'in the same location that had been attacked' on Wednesday. In that bombing, the RT correspondent, Steve Sweeney, and the cameraman Ali Rida were injured due to the impact of an Israeli missile—recorded on camera—near the bridge and a military base. Last Thursday, the Israeli Army said it had already destroyed at least two bridges over the Litani River, which add to another one collapsed on the 13th, according to recent military statements.
