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Entry to Syria through Arida crossing to open in 48 hours — Lebanon's Transport Ministry

"The roadway rehabilitation work near the Masnaa crossing on the Beirut-Damascus highway will be completed by Thursday, November 28," the statement reads

BEIRUT, November 27. /TASS/. Car traffic through the Arida crossing point on the Syrian-Lebanese border will be restored within 48 hours, Lebanon's Acting Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, announced in a statement on X.

Earlier, Israeli airstrikes had damaged several bridges in the area. "Transport links with Syria via the Arida border crossing in northern Lebanon will resume in 48 hours," Hamieh stated after inspecting the damaged bridges.

"The roadway rehabilitation work near the Masnaa crossing on the Beirut-Damascus highway will be completed by Thursday, November 28," the official added.

Hamieh noted that on October 3, Israeli jets destroyed a section of road in a narrow gorge north of the Masnaa border crossing, creating a deep crater and halting traffic on the Beirut-Damascus international highway. This road was a primary route for refugees fleeing from Lebanon to Syria. According to the UN, 540,000 Lebanese and Syrian citizens have left Lebanon since the onset of Israeli aggression on September 23.

On Wednesday night, the SANA news agency reported that the Israeli Air Force struck border crossings on the Syrian-Lebanese border in the mountainous Akkar Governorate, killing six people, including two servicemen. The Israeli army claimed the airstrikes targeted routes used by Hezbollah militants to smuggle weapons.

Additionally, an October 25 Israeli air raid on areas bordering Syria in eastern Lebanon forced the shutdown of traffic through the Jusiyah crossing on the Baalbek-Homs highway. However, the border crossing has since reopened, as announced on Wednesday.