Lebanese people returning to southern Lebanon have found ways to traverse the Litani River, despite Israeli strikes on bridges over the river. The fact is that the river is not very large, and people have found a way to make temporary passages over it.
In videos online, it appears in many cases people have been able to drive over the river, which looks more like a stream, via ad hoc solutions such as putting some rocks, mud, and other items over the water.
These improvised crossings have gained attention in regional media. Arab News says that “Lebanon’s military said Sunday it had reopened a road and bridge damaged by Israeli strikes in the country’s south as a 10-day truce holds between Hezbollah and Israel.” The fact that hundreds of thousands of people are now returning to southern Lebanon may show the limits of Israel’s military force.
In Gaza and Lebanon, Israel has destroyed civilian infrastructure. This included razing many areas of Gaza that have come under IDF control, known as the Yellow Line. However, it also involved attacks on other targets during the Israel-Hamas War, such as high-rise buildings in Gaza City.
The tall buildings were largely left standing for most of the war until mid-September 2025, when Israeli officials decided that the IDF should recapture Gaza City in northern Gaza. The officials and the IDF had already claimed that Hamas was defeated in northern Gaza in late 2023 and early 2024. The IDF had carried out numerous operations in Gaza City neighborhoods.
However, the decision was made to retake these areas in September 2025. Around a million Gazans were told to evacuate. Many of these people had already been displaced one or two times during the war, first between October and January during the initial fighting in northern Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7 and then again sometime in the fall of 2024.
A million people left northern Gaza, along with many of the Hamas members who had been there. The decision to target high-rise buildings appeared more symbolic than military necessity. If the tall buildings had indeed been a military necessity to target, then they would have been targeted earlier in the war. Instead, they had remained standing from October 2023 to September 2025 — almost two years of war.
The destruction of the high-rises in Gaza was celebrated in Jerusalem as “changing the skyline” of Gaza.
If it was about changing the skyline, it didn’t sound like it was a military necessity. Destroying high-rises has happened in the past in Gaza, in the 2021 conflict, for instance. It appears to be a symbolic way to “show” Hamas that Israel can destroy things. Hamas likely knows this after decades of war with Israel.
Similarly, in Lebanon, Hezbollah knows the IDF can destroy whatever it wants using air power and munitions. Hezbollah is under no illusions about Israel’s power. The decision to target the bridges over the Litani was taken after the IDF had called on hundreds of thousands of people in southern Lebanon to flee north.
The attacks on the bridges began in mid-March and continued through early April. For instance, on March 18, the BBC said bridges were destroyed, and subsequent reports noted that more were destroyed in early April. The IDF said on March 13 that “a short while ago, the IDF struck the Zrarieh Bridge over the Litani River in Lebanon, which served as a key crossing for terrorists from the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
Context: Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon have raised questions about the strategic objectives behind targeting civilian infrastructure.
Fact Check: High-rise buildings in Gaza and bridges in southern Lebanon were destroyed as part of the ongoing conflicts, with implications for both civilian populations and armed groups in the region.
Indikasi: Tindakan militer Israel di Gaza dan Lebanon telah menimbulkan pertanyaan tentang tujuan strategis di balik penargetan infrastruktur sipil.
