Israel’s military captured Lebanon’s strategic stronghold in its deepest incursion into the country in a quarter of a century.
Israel’s military has captured a high-altitude mountain with a Crusader-built palace in southern Lebanon in the country’s first offensive in more than a century, the military said on Sunday.
The capture of Beaufort Castle, near the town of Nabatieh, came after days of airstrikes and heavy fighting in nearby villages where Israeli forces battled Hezbollah members in the rugged terrain.
Its capture marks a major development in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, which began on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the US and Israel attacked its main ally, Iran.
Israel has since launched a land invasion, capturing dozens of Lebanese towns and villages near the border. Hezbollah has launched thousands of missiles and drones at Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
Israel’s pressure came despite a cease-fire that began on April 17 and a few days before Lebanon and Israel hold the next round of direct talks in Washington, DC, starting Tuesday.
A historical and strategic fortress
The Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, posted pictures on X showing Israeli soldiers walking outside the fortress, and Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that they raised the Israeli flag over the fortress. Previously, the Israeli army captured this palace in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.
“26 years after withdrawing from the security zone in Lebanon, the Israeli flag has returned to fly high on the peaks overlooking the cities of the Galilee,” Katz said Sunday at a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in their previous position in southern Lebanon.
Katz said that Israel intends to capture the fort as its soldiers are trying to destroy thousands of homes that he said were used by Hezbollah and other military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
The capture of the fortress in 1982 from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was a major victory for the Israeli military led at the time by defense minister Ariel Sharon, who later became prime minister. Meanwhile, the Israeli army pushed all the way north and took Beirut.
During the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) gave enhanced protection to 34 cultural sites in Lebanon, including Beaufort Castle, to protect them from damage.
The fort is a few kilometers north of the Israeli border and overlooks large parts of southern Lebanon and northern Israel. In Arabic, it is called Al-Shaqif castle, an old Syriac word that refers to a formidable rocky place.
Beaufort symbolizes the whole world, including Israel, where it was one of the most famous places that Israel controlled during the 18-year occupation. One of Israel’s most popular war films, Beaufortexplores questions of morality and reservations and the futility of war, in the final days before the army withdraws.
Israel escalates attacks on Lebanon
In recent days, Israel has expanded the scope of its operations in Lebanon, sending troops across the Litani River, which served as a de facto border, and demanding that civilians leave most of southern Lebanon.
“The hiring of Beaufort is a remarkable step, and a major change in the processes we are leading,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, referring to military attacks on security areas in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Israel’s borders. He said Israel has killed 3,000 Hezbollah terrorists since the start of the war. Hezbollah did not disclose the death toll.
Israel has designated the area from Litani up to the Zahrani river as a fighting area. Some residents have already left the area due to the intense strikes in the past days, but people are still standing.
Israeli soldiers have been marching for days in the villages near Beaufort Castle. They are now about five kilometers away from the city of Nabatieh, a major center in southern Lebanon, and they have asked residents to leave, as well as residents of the coastal city of Tyre, the fourth largest city in the country, and the surrounding area.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or the Lebanese government about the Israeli push.
An increase in attacks on both sides of the border has put the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah at risk.
This increased activity will give Israel leverage in future negotiations with Lebanon in Washington, said Beirut-based geopolitical analyst Joe Macaron.
“We are in a critical situation,” Macaron said, adding that it was too early to say how Hezbollah would react to the loss of land. “It’s an expanding area [the Israeli military] they can hold before ceasing fire, they can impose conditions on Hezbollah before their withdrawal.”
The exchange of fire at the border continues
Israel continued to strike near Tyre, including the Hiram hospital. The Ministry of Health in Lebanon said 13 health workers were injured in the strike. Elsewhere, a strike in Deir al-Zahrani near Nabatieh killed eight people and wounded 16, according to the National News Agency in Lebanon.
Hezbollah overnight claimed two attacks against Israeli soldiers and a Merkava tank in the southwestern town of Bayada near the border. In recent days, the group said it had clashed with Israeli forces in several towns north of the river near Nabatieh and the strategic fortress. It also said it had attacked Israel near the northern city of Haifa, Nahariya, and border areas.
Hezbollah on Saturday fired several rockets into northern Israel, including Kiryat Shmona, the region’s largest city.
Hezbollah’s use of hard-to-see fiber optic drones has killed Israeli soldiers, who have struggled to respond. There have been about 200 warnings to Israeli citizens in northern Israel warning of drones and missiles in the past 24 hours, according to the Israeli military.
The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 3,350 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million.
According to Netanyahu’s office, at least 25 Israeli soldiers and contractors were killed in or near southern Lebanon, including one on Saturday. Two people were also killed in northern Israel.
