Israeli troops have captured Beaufort castle, a strategic mountain fortress in southern Lebanon near the city of Nabatiyeh, marking the deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter-century, the Israeli military said Sunday. The taking of the Crusader-built castle followed days of airstrikes and intense fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants in nearby villages.
The capture represents a major Israeli advance in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war that began March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after the United States and Israel attacked its main backer, Iran. Since then, Israel has launched a ground invasion capturing dozens of Lebanese villages and towns close to the border while Hezbollah has launched thousands of missiles and drones at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
What the Right Is Saying
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the capture "a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift" in Israeli policy, citing military occupation of security zones along Israel's borders in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel intends to hold the castle while destroying homes it says were used by Hezbollah for military infrastructure.
"Twenty-six years after the withdrawal from the security zone in Lebanon, the Israeli flag has returned to fly on the peaks that overlook the Galilee towns," Katz said Sunday at a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed during the previous occupation. Israel previously captured Beaufort in 1982 and held it until withdrawing in 2000.
Netanyahu said Israel has killed 3,000 Hezbollah militants since the start of the war. The Israeli military reported nearly 200 alerts for civilians across northern Israel in the past 24 hours warning of incoming drones and missiles. According to Netanyahu's office, at least 25 Israeli soldiers and one defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, along with two civilians in northern Israel.
What the Left Is Saying
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, said he can guarantee the militant group's "full, comprehensive, and immediate commitment to a ceasefire." "But who will force Israel to stop its aggression," Berri said in a statement on his television station NBN.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss Israeli military operations in Lebanon. "Nothing can justify the prolongation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and its increasingly deep occupation of Lebanese territory," Barrot said Sunday on French television BFM TV.
Humanitarian groups have expressed alarm at the expanding conflict zone. The latest round of fighting has killed 3,350 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million people, according to Lebanese authorities. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that 13 health workers were wounded when strikes hit near Hiram Hospital outside Tyre.
What the Numbers Show
Beaufort castle sits a few kilometers north of the Israel border and overlooks wide swaths of both southern Lebanon and northern Israel. The fortress was built as a Crusader castle around the 12th century and has served as a strategic military asset for centuries, used by Saladin's army, Mamluks, Ottomans, the French, and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Israeli troops are now approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Nabatiyeh, a major Lebanese population center. Israel has designated the area from the Litani River up to the Zahrani River as a combat zone, expanding operations beyond previous boundaries that had served as de-facto limits during earlier conflicts.
During the previous Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, UNESCO gave enhanced protection to Beaufort Castle and 33 other cultural sites in Lebanon. The castle is located near Tyre, Lebanon's fourth-largest city, which Israeli forces have also called on residents to evacuate.
Hezbollah claimed attacks targeting Israeli troops and a Merkava tank near the border town of Bayada, as well as rocket salvos into Kiryat Shmona, the largest city in northern Israel. The group has reported clashes with Israeli forces in several towns north of the Litani River near Nabatiyeh.
The Bottom Line
The capture of Beaufort castle gives Israel a significant tactical position heading into scheduled direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington starting Tuesday. Beirut geopolitical analyst Joe Macaron said, "We are at a tipping point" and that Israel's advance could allow it to impose conditions on Hezbollah before any withdrawal.
Despite the nominal ceasefire in place since April 17, Israeli operations have continued and expanded across southern Lebanon. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or the Lebanese government on the latest push. The coming days will test whether diplomatic talks can halt the military advance as both sides position for negotiations.