The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it has launched a new wave of attacks on what it describes as "Hezbollah infrastructure" in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, while earlier it destroyed a bridge in the east of the country to hinder the movement of reinforcements by the Iran-backed group.
According to reports from the AFP agency, two powerful explosions were heard in Beirut within an interval of about 30 minutes in the early hours of Saturday morning, while thick smoke was seen rising from the affected area.
Local media reported two attacks in the southern suburbs of the capital, an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold and which has been the target of repeated Israeli bombings in recent days. The developments come as the Israeli military continues its ground operation in southern Lebanon, aiming to create a “safe zone.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli warplanes hit the bridge connecting the Sohmor and Mashghara areas, completely destroying it. According to local media, a second bridge in the same area was also hit.
Airstrikes on Sohmor continued into the early hours of the morning, with reports that the city center was hit at least twice, while fighter jets patrolled the skies.
Earlier, Israel destroyed five other bridges over the Litani River in southern Lebanon, cutting off a large part of the main roads that pass through this strategic area.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, in Sohmor two people were killed and 15 others were injured by an airstrike that hit the area as worshippers were leaving the mosque after Friday prayers.
Lebanese authorities report that over 1,300 people have been killed during a month of escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
