IDF Bombs Bridges Over the Litani River, Orders Mass Evacuation

The IDF on Wednesday issued one of its most sweeping warnings of the war, announcing it intends to strike crossings over the Litani River in a move that could effectively seal off southern Lebanon from the rest of the country.

IDF Arabic-language spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee published the warning, calling on all civilians still south of the Litani to move north immediately. "For your safety, you must continue moving to the area north of the Zahrani River and avoid any southward movement that could endanger your life," Adraee said.

The military said the dramatic escalation was forced by Hezbollah's continued exploitation of civilian movement to smuggle fighters and weapons into southern Lebanon. "Due to Hezbollah's activities and the transfer of terror operatives to southern Lebanon under the cover of the civilian population, the IDF is compelled to carry out extensive and precise strikes against Hezbollah's terror operations," Adraee stated. "Accordingly, and to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and weapons, the IDF intends to strike crossings over the Litani River starting this afternoon."

The evacuation order came hours after forces from the 91st Division identified a Hezbollah cell in southern Lebanon unloading weapons from a vehicle, including RPGs intended for use against Israeli troops. Shortly after the identification, the Israeli Air Force struck and eliminated the operatives before the attack could be carried out.

The decision to target every bridge and crossing point over the Litani represents a significant escalation of the ground operation, transforming the river into a hard barrier that would isolate tens of thousands of remaining residents and cut Hezbollah's ability to resupply its forces in the south. This follows Hezbollah's shooting 40 rockets into Northern Israel last night.

According to CBN Media Group:

Open Source Intel added,