Ruptly
"On Monday, Lebanese rescue teams recovered the bodies of two people who had gone missing after an Israeli airstrike hit a bridge over the Litani River during the final days of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The incident reportedly occurred just before a ceasefire went into effect. Footage shows bulldozers digging as rescue teams searched amid crowds of onlookers. The bodies and the wreckage of a car were later recovered. "A specialised team from the Lebanese Civil Defence recently conducted a search operation in the river but found nothing. We had to work along the edges of the bridge to avoid damaging it. If we reach a dead end, we may have to cut through and search the filled-in area. We hope to find something that will bring peace of mind to their families," said Ali Safi al-Din, head of the Lebanese Civil Defence Centre in Tyre. Mousa al-Jamal, the uncle of one of the victims, said that reviewing the surveillance footage confirmed that the two had been crossing the bridge at the time of the incident. "After contacting the army, we were told the two individuals had crossed. We reviewed the footage and saw the car crossing at the moment the strike occurred," the man added. Lebanon's National News Agency reported that the bodies were recovered from inside their car after the Qasmiyeh Bridge was destroyed and were transported to a hospital in Tyre following hours of search operations. According to the agency, the air force carried out two consecutive airstrikes targeting the Qasmiyeh Bridge on Thursday, completely destroying it. The bridge was the last remaining link between the Tyre area and the city of Sidon. Lebanon's Ministry of Health says that 2,387 people have been killed since the war began on March 2, according to figures released on Monday, while the number of wounded exceeded 7,500 in last week’s tally. The Israeli army said early Friday, April 17, that it had carried out strikes over the previous 24 hours on more than 380 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. It added that the strikes targeted launch sites, command centres, and militants. Israeli media outlets, including the Public Broadcasting Corporation, reported earlier that the army planned to intensify its strikes ahead of the ceasefire taking effect. On April 15, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which came into force on April 17. The announcement followed direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington, DC, marking the first such negotiations in decades."
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