Smoke can be seen from the ancient city of Sour rising over the hills of Naqoura, southern Lebanon, on March 23, 2026, following an Israeli strike. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient Today)
It is 9:06 p.m. on the old coastal road linking Saida to Sour, on Wednesday April 8, when an Israeli missile hits the Qasmieh bridge.Elias, usually calm, is clearly on edge. Owner of a fishing shop in the old port, he fears the worst. Like him, thousands of people south of the Litani risk being trapped by the war. A disruption in supply lines could push them into a completely different reality within a few days.The Israeli strike on March 23 had already cut off the main highway leading to the southern city. The small parallel crossing, usually little used, had become “the last bridge” — the final functioning link between the north and south of the country.A fragile fallback solution, made up of an old metal structure, a concrete roadway, and a small Lebanese Army relay post — a setup that a single strike would be enough to destroy. For...
It is 9:06 p.m. on the old coastal road linking Saida to Sour, on Wednesday April 8, when an Israeli missile hits the Qasmieh bridge.Elias, usually calm, is clearly on edge. Owner of a fishing shop in the old port, he fears the worst. Like him, thousands of people south of the Litani risk being trapped by the war. A disruption in supply lines could push them into a completely different reality within a few days.The Israeli strike on March 23 had already cut off the main highway leading to the southern city. The small parallel crossing, usually little used, had become “the last bridge” — the final functioning link between the north and south of the country.A fragile fallback solution, made up of an old metal structure, a concrete roadway, and a small Lebanese Army relay post — a setup that a single strike would be enough to...
