Israeli attacks destroy infrastructure in southern Lebanon

Israel has wiped out entire villages and destroyed crucial infrastructure in southern Lebanon during conflicts with Hezbollah.

According to local media reports, the Israeli military has bombed every bridge over the Litani River last week. It means that major cities like Tyre are now isolated. Vehicles have no way to get through to deliver urgent medicine, supplies, or food. Even the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which monitors the violations and attacks happening in south Lebanon, can no longer have a direct connection of supply to its forces.

Hassan Dbouk, president of the Union of Tyre Region Municipalities, condemned Israel's destruction, saying it has been wholly disregarding international law and following the same calamitous pattern seen in the Gaza Strip.

"Israel doesn't respect international law. It's destroying everything, mosques, religious places, schools, clinics, the vicinity of hospitals -- even when it doesn't directly hit a hospital, it targets its vicinity, which puts it out of service. As for the infrastructure, last time, it bombarded the central water facility, and electricity always gets affected. To me, the situation in Lebanon is following the same pattern as in Gaza," he said.

He further noted that Israel is destroying villages along the Blue Line, a border demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel established by the United Nations in 2000.

"They said that they are destroying the Blue Line, which is the first line of villages on the border, and the second line, and they're calling for the occupation of the third line and therefore its destruction. They want it to be a buffer zone, which means an uninhabitable place with no population or houses, and this is getting implemented," he said.

Ali Khreis, a Lebanese parliament member, said that Israel is trying to prevent people from returning home as a form of political pressure, but Lebanon will not surrender.

"They want to prevent people from going back home. This is a type of political pressure. Israel is doing this so that Lebanon will yield to its demands. Despite what is happening, we can't give in to the Israeli pressure, whatever the cost. There is no crossing point between Tyre and the rest of the territories now. The main bridge was destroyed, and before that, another bridge was destroyed. This was the only remaining crossing," he said.

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday local time, following an earlier announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump.

However, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Saturday that it had struck militants approaching a "Yellow Line," which marks the northern edge of the "security zone" established by Israel in southern Lebanon, over the past day.

Israeli attacks destroy infrastructure in southern Lebanon

Israeli attacks destroy infrastructure in southern Lebanon

A shoe factory in Wenzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, has been working closely with its American partners to weather the sharp ups and downs in US tariff policies over the past year.

The city of Wenzhou is home to thousands of shoe factories, many of which focus on exports. About 1 in 12 pairs of shoes worldwide are made in the city.

Xuda Footwear in Wenzhou City, which manufactures for several major U.S. brands, saw its US orders drop about 40 percent year on year after tariff hikes began last year, according to vice general manager Lin Zhihua.

Then, despite widespread criticism and high volatility in U.S. stock markets after tariff hikes, last April, the White House clarified that the total effective tariff rate on Chinese imports had climbed to 145 percent.

The uncertainty prompted American clients to make practical adjustments. Yuan Weimin, head of Xuda Footwear's foreign trade department, said that clients asked the factory to leave retail prices blank on shoe tags, as final shelf prices in the U.S. remained unpredictable.

"The client felt the tariffs were going up and down, and were very unstable. So they started making some adjustments. For example, on the shoe price tags, we used to print the retail price. But they asked us to remove the price and just leave it blank," said Yuan Weimin, head of the foreign trade department of Xuda Footwear, as the sale price would probably be different when the shoes appeared on the U.S. shelves for customers.

Yuan said the uncertainty was also hitting the factory hard. While fearing last-minute order cancellations, Xuda continued production at the urging of its U.S. partners, who worried that halting orders would quickly empty American store shelves.

Some Americans showed solidarity with Chinese partners and chose to shoulder the risk of keeping things running. In one case, an American client paid for a large order but requested that the shoes not be shipped amid the high tariffs.

The moment of relief came in May, 2025. China and the United States reached a temporary agreement in Geneva, with U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods dropped from 145 percent to around 30 percent.

"By the end of June, production was back at scale. Because a 145 percent tariff isn't really workable for anyone," said Yuan.

Looking back on last year's turbulence, Lin said both he and his U.S. clients and partners were feeling stressed.

"It was a stressful time. Things were very unpredictable. Not just for us, but for the trading companies and the US clients too. Everyone was anxious," Lin said.

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15.

Lin said he is looking forward to the U.S. president's visit.

"I'm actually looking forward to it. Him coming to China is in itself a sign that things might look up," said Lin.

Chinese shoe factory navigates US tariff turbulence through close partnership