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Naim Qassem, leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, said on Friday that his movement was prepared for a prolonged confrontation with Israel, as Israeli officials warned that Lebanon would face growing damage to its infrastructure.
Lebanon was drawn into the expanding Middle East conflict last week after the Iran-backed group launched attacks on Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in joint strikes by the United States and Israel.
“We have prepared ourselves for a long confrontation, and God willing, they (Israelis) will be surprised on the battlefield,” Qassem said in his second televised speech since the conflict escalated.
“This is an existential battle, not a limited or simple battle.”
Israel on Friday destroyed a bridge across the Litani River linking the towns of Zrariyeh and Tayr Falsay, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. The river runs across southern Lebanon from east to west.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces described the bridge as a “key crossing” used by Hezbollah to move forces from northern to southern Lebanon and prepare for combat.
The strike marked the first acknowledged Israeli attack on Lebanese public infrastructure since the outbreak of the latest phase of the war.
“This is just the beginning and the Lebanese government and the state of Lebanon will pay an increasing price in damage to Lebanese national infrastructure used by Hezbollah terrorists,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
He warned that Lebanon could face “loss of territory — until it fulfils its central commitment of disarming Hezbollah”.
Earlier in the week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun offered to hold direct negotiations with Israel, though he said on Friday that no response had been received.
According to the National News Agency, Israeli forces also struck several roads in southern Lebanon, cutting access from areas north of the Litani River and from the Bekaa Valley, which Hezbollah uses to move weapons.
The agency also reported Israeli shelling near a battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the border town of Mays al-Jabal.
Meanwhile, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, called for an immediate halt to the fighting during a visit to Beirut.
“My strong appeal to those parties, to Hezbollah and to Israel, is for a ceasefire to stop the war,” Guterres said.
He also launched a $325 million humanitarian appeal to support Lebanon as hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict.
Israeli strikes continued across southern Lebanon on Friday, including one that killed eight people in the village of Miyeh w Miyeh near the port city of Sidon, according to the health ministry.
In the nearby village of Irkey, a man named Mohammad Taqi buried four of his daughters aged between six and 13 who were killed in an Israeli strike alongside several relatives.
“The Israeli enemy says every day that it is targeting infrastructure,” he said at their funeral.
“Is this the infrastructure? Have you seen it?”
“I’ve lost four daughters. I don’t have any others. Zainab, Zahra, Malika and Yasmina,” he said, adding that he had also lost other family members in the same strike.
In Sawaneh, the health ministry said a strike killed two paramedics, including one from the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Committee and another from the Risala Scouts.
Early on Saturday, the ministry reported that a strike on a primary healthcare centre in Burj Qalawiya killed 12 doctors, paramedics and nurses who were on duty.
Hezbollah said it also launched attacks against Israeli forces on Friday as part of a Quds Day operation.
Israel meanwhile renewed evacuation warnings, including for the southern suburbs of Beirut, and carried out further strikes in the area, according to Lebanese media.
Israeli aircraft also dropped leaflets over Beirut urging citizens to oppose Hezbollah.
One leaflet read: “You must disarm Hezbollah, Iran’s shield” and “Lebanon is your decision, not someone else’s”.
