Lebanon’s Aoun warns Israeli attack on bridge ‘prelude to ground invasion’

Israeli army chief says the operation against Hezbollah “has only begun” and would be “prolonged”.Israeli forces have attacked the Qasmiyeh Bridge, a key crossing linking Lebanon’s south to the rest of the country, in an escalation that President Joseph Aoun called a “prelude to ground invasion”.Sunday’s strike on the vital artery and other civilian infrastructure came after Israeli Defence Minister Israel-katz" class="entity-link entity-person" data-entity-id="4249" data-entity-type="person">Israel Katz ordered the military to destroy all crossings over the Litani River and homes close to the border between the two countries.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Hezbollah attack kills one in north Israel as assault on Lebanon continueslist 2 of 3Moment Israeli strike hits bridge in southern Lebanonlist 3 of 3Missile strikes close to reporter during Israeli attacks in Lebanonend of listThe bombing of the bridge marks an escalation of the Israeli military’s campaign against Hezbollah, which resumed on March 2 after the Lebanese armed group fired rockets into Israel in response to the Israeli-US killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.Aoun said the attacks on the bridge were “an attempt to sever the geographical connection between the southern Litani region and the rest of Lebanese territory”.He said they fell “within suspicious schemes to establish a buffer zone along the Israeli border, solidify the reality of the occupation and seek Israeli expansion within Lebanese territory”.Katz had earlier said Israel’s strategy of attacking bridges over the Litani River used for “terrorist activity” and homes in “front-line villages” to neutralise threats to Israeli communities was similar to the model used in Beit Hanoun and Rafah in Gaza, where Israel created buffer zones by clearing and demolishing buildings near the border as part of its genocidal war against Palestinians in the territory.Later on Sunday, the Israeli army chief said the operation against Hezbollah “has only begun” and would be “prolonged”.