Overview
- Defense Minister Israel Katz, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s backing, directed the IDF to destroy all bridges over the Litani River and to speed the razing of homes in frontline Lebanese villages, citing a Gaza-style model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun.
- Israeli forces struck the Qasmiyeh bridge near Tyre, a strategic coastal highway link between southern and central Lebanon, with state media reporting multiple hits that rendered the crossing unusable.
- Lebanon’s health ministry reports more than 1,000 dead and over one million displaced since March 2, as the UN human rights chief criticises strikes on civilian infrastructure and broad evacuation orders.
- President Joseph Aoun condemned the bridge attacks and infrastructure damage as a violation of sovereignty and described the moves as a prelude to a ground invasion, while France voiced concern over a large, prolonged operation.
- The IDF says air and ground operations target Hezbollah fighters and logistics, reporting the killing of a Radwan Force commander and a Hamas operative, as Israel reviews whether a reported civilian death near the border involved IDF fire after initially citing rocket fire.