An Israeli airstrike early Friday morning near Lebanon's Masnaa border crossing with Syria has severed a crucial road used by hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Israeli bombardments, Transport Minister Ali Hamieh told Reuters. 

The strike, which hit inside Lebanese territory close to the crossing, created a four-meter-wide (12 feet) crater, effectively cutting off the escape route.

The Masnaa crossing, located in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley along the Beirut-Damascus highway, is a major transport link between Lebanon and Syria. Over the past ten days, more than 300,000 people—mostly Syrian nationals—have used the crossing to escape the escalating Israeli attacks, as reported by Lebanese government sources.

The Israeli army had previously accused Hezbollah of using the Masnaa crossing to smuggle military equipment into Lebanon.

"The IDF will not allow the smuggling of these weapons and will not hesitate to act if necessary, as it has done throughout this conflict," the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee, wrote on X on Thursday. 

In response, Minister Hamieh, affiliated with Hezbollah, emphasized that the Masnaa crossing falls under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese state, dismissing claims of its use for military purposes.