The Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria was severely damaged by an Israeli airstrike early on Friday, forcing the road to close and leaving those fleeing to cross on foot.
Videos circulating on social media show the aftermath of the strike and the destruction it caused. Displaced Lebanese and Syrians can be seen trekking by foot across the border.
Masnaa is the primary border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.
The Israeli army claimed in a statement that it struck a 3.5-kilometer underground tunnel crossing from Lebanon into Syria. It says it is working to stifle the flow of weapons from Iran via Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel’s air force bombed "an underground tunnel that crosses the territory of Lebanon into the territory of Syria, about 3.5 kilometers long, and which is used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons and store them in an underground route," the Israeli army said in a statement on 4 October.
The statement also announced the assassination of Mohammad Jaafar Qasir, who it said was the head of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 that allegedly operated the targeted tunnel.
It added that it "will continue to attack and destroy any infrastructure for smuggling weapons."
Since late last month, Israel has been waging a massive and deadly aerial campaign across Lebanon, including its capital, Beirut. At least one million have been displaced and around 2,000 killed since September 20, with the death toll on a continuously rapid rise.
Dozens of loud explosions rocked Beirut's southern suburb just past midnight on Thursday as Israel unleashed another round of massive and destructive airstrikes. Several neighborhoods were reported destroyed as a result of the attacks.
Israeli 🇮🇱 airstrike has cut a main highway linking Lebanon 🇱🇧 with Syria 🇸🇾, first time this major border crossing has been cut off since the beginning of the war, footage by @JamilBassil
— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) October 4, 2024
Friday’s airstrike led to the closure of a road near the Masnaa Border Crossing, from… pic.twitter.com/iT45ZynCS9
Hebrew and western media cited Israeli sources as saying that Hashem Safieddine was the target of the main attack on the suburb.
Safieddine is the cousin and likely successor to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated on September 27 when Israel dropped over 80 bunker buster bombs and leveled around 10 buildings in Beirut's southern suburb.
