While President Donald Trump focused his public messaging on Iran on Friday, calling its leaders “deranged scumbags” and celebrating their deaths as a personal honor, the military campaign also carved a path of destruction through Lebanon. Israeli forces struck the coastal city of Sidon, killing at least eight people and wounding nine, while also targeting the Zrarieh Bridge over the Litani River, which Israel claimed was being used by Hezbollah for troop movements. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that Lebanon would pay an increasing price for infrastructure used by Hezbollah.
Lebanon has been devastated by the dual pressure of Hezbollah’s participation in the war and Israeli strikes on its territory. Over 600 people have been killed across the country since the latest fighting began, and more than 800,000 have been displaced from their homes. Israeli military officials framed their strikes as targeting Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, though they provided no evidence for the specific claim about the Zrarieh Bridge. Hezbollah fired multiple rocket salvoes at northern Israel on Friday, injuring close to 60 people.
Trump’s broader war with Iran provided the context for the Lebanese front. The conflict began when Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sparking a chain of escalations that drew in Iran, its allies Hezbollah and various Iraqi militias, and US forces. Over 15,000 targets have been struck by US and Israeli forces combined since the war began, with Israel reporting over 200 strikes in Iran alone in the most recent 24 hours. US forces separately conducted the major Kharg Island operation, destroying all military sites in what Trump called history-making.
In Tehran, residents continued to endure near-constant bombardment. A shopkeeper in central Tehran said she could barely sleep, had taped her windows, and had counted six explosions in one hour. A retired professor described rubble in the streets, buildings shaking, and a population too short of fuel to flee. Iranian authorities have reported over 1,300 deaths nationwide. The new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains in hiding underground, according to US officials who describe him as wounded and disfigured.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced fresh missile and drone attacks on Israel coordinated with Hezbollah, framing the campaign as part of al-Quds Day. Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE continued to face Iranian drone and missile strikes on infrastructure. The Strait of Hormuz, effectively blockaded by Iran, remained a critical concern for global energy markets. Trump warned Iran that its oil facilities at Kharg Island would be the next target if shipping interference continued, while European nations sought diplomatic paths to ensure safe passage for their commercial vessels.