Israel strikes bridge over Litani River in Lebanon

TEL AVIV, March 13 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said it carried out an air strike on a bridge in southern Lebanon ​on Friday, in what appeared to be the first time in the current campaign against Hezbollah ‌that it acknowledged attacking civilian infrastructure.

The military said the Zrariyeh bridge, which crosses the Litani River, was used by Hezbollah militants moving between northern and southern Lebanon, but provided no evidence to support the claim. It also said militants had ​positioned launchers near the bridge to carry out attacks against Israel.

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“In order to prevent a threat ​to Israeli civilians … it was necessary to sever the bridge,” the military said.

International ⁠law generally prohibits militaries from attacking civilian infrastructure, though it can be permitted in some instances if ​it is being used for military purposes.

The military did not say what legal guidance, if any, it sought ​before carrying out the attack, or whether there were any casualties.

Earlier, Lebanon’s state media reported that a drone struck a residential apartment in Beirut’s Burj Hammoud district on the northern outskirts of the Lebanese capital on Friday. It was the ​first time in this war Beirut’s predominantly Christian northern suburbs have been hit as Israel appeared to ​widen its targeting.

Israel has been carrying out daily strikes on Lebanon since March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel ‌to ⁠avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in Tehran on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Almost 700 people in Lebanon have died in Israeli attacks in Lebanon and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Israel’s military said it has targeted Hezbollah militants and Iranian forces.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Friday ​said that non-essential diplomats in Lebanon ​had been directed to ⁠leave, a day after similarly directing some diplomats to leave Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

In a late night press conference on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ​Netanyahu vowed to keep hitting Lebanon. His defence minister, Israel Katz, earlier on Thursday ​said the ⁠military was preparing to expand its operations in Lebanon.

The military has sent additional ground forces into Lebanon over the past week carrying out raids on Lebanese villages near the border with Israel in what it describes as defensive ⁠maneuvers to ​protect civilians in Israel’s north from attacks.

On Wednesday night, Hezbollah ​launched 200 rockets at northern Israeli communities. Israeli strikes have pounded the suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and the country’s south.

Reporting by ​Tala Ramadan in Dubai and Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, William Maclean

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