Bekaa battle map shifts as strikes carve up key routes — the details

Report by Nada Andraos, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Following the strike on the Dalafa Bridge, the Bekaa is no longer outside the battle; it has entered a new phase defined by one headline: dismantling the geography step by step.

The attacks targeting Sohmor, Yohmor, Zellaya, Qellaya, and Libbaya cannot be separated from their location in the southern West Bekaa, where vital routes intersect, linking the south to the Bekaa.

The fabric of these predominantly Shiite villages has been torn apart in what appears to be a clear attempt to isolate them from their surroundings, the Bekaa hinterland, and their southern extension.

From this reality emerges the first scenario: fragmentation.

Targeting the Dalafa Bridge and the mentioned villages turns them into separate pockets that are easier to encircle, especially as they lie along narrow routes descending toward Rashaya.

The second scenario unfolds along the slopes of Mount Hermon.

Any advance from this peak, descending toward the edges of Qaraoun Lake, passing through Machgharah to reach Meidoun, would mean gaining control of the western edge of the West Bekaa, an edge that borders the strategic highlands of Iqlim al-Tuffah and Jezzine.

In this context, the villages of Rashaya stand out not merely as passageways but as part of an elevated line of control. Controlling them would open fire coverage over the roads ascending from the Bekaa toward Mount Hermon and toward Mount Lebanon, specifically the Barouk area, reinforcing a scenario focused on holding the high ground rather than merely cutting off roads below.

An example of infiltration from behind Rashaya is what the Israeli army published regarding movement along Mount Hermon to reach the Bekaa.

The third scenario is broader and more far-reaching.

It involves shifting from isolating the West Bekaa to striking the heart of the Bekaa. The route begins at Mount Hermon, connects to the eastern mountain range, reaches the border at Masnaa, and then extends toward Dahr al-Baydar.

If this line is achieved, the international highway would be threatened, and central Bekaa would be cut off from Beirut.

In parallel, a fourth scenario is advancing in the northeast. Targeting the Assi Bridge separates Hermel from Baalbek, leaving it isolated.

What is unfolding is not a conventional escalation but a systematic dismantling of the map, breaking it into isolated zones where control lies with whoever dominates the roads, bridges, and high ground.