The Israeli military has announced that its troops have captured Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, in its deepest ground advance into Lebanese territory in 26 years.
“Our soldiers are writing a new chapter … by planting their flag at Beaufort Castle,” said Israeli military spokesman Col Avichay Adraee as soldiers walked among the ruins of the castle.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops would stay at the site, saying Israel “will remain there as part of the security zone in Lebanon”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the castle's capture as a "dramatic stage" in Israel's escalating war with Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said later that air-raid sirens were activated as far south as the port city of Acre, and that it intercepted projectiles fired from Lebanon. The rest fell in open fields, it added.
Israel has faced widespread international condemnation over its military offensive in southern Lebanon, amid warnings about displacement and risks of regional spillover. An investigation by The National last week revealed repeated Israeli strikes on first responders and medics in southern Lebanon.
Diplomats have called for restraint and a return to ceasefire commitments, warning further escalation could destabilise the broader Middle East.
A US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, announced last month, has largely failed to hold, with both sides accusing each other of repeated breaches. Since it came into effect, there have been near-daily exchanges of fire across the border, renewed Israeli air attacks in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks into northern Israel and waves of Israeli displacement orders for residents to flee their homes.
The latest came on Sunday, when the Israeli army ordered residents south of the Zahrani River to leave immediately, citing what it described as Hezbollah ceasefire violations. A military spokesman said forces were preparing to act “forcefully” against Hezbollah targets in the area and urged civilians to move north of the river for their safety.
Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the capture of Beaufort Castle reflected what he called past “national mistakes”, arguing that Israel’s withdrawals from Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza in 2005 had strengthened Hezbollah and Hamas, and calling for “permanent territorial control”.
Meanwhile, the military said that an Israeli soldier had been killed and four others had been wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon, without giving further details.
The reported capture follows days of heavy fighting around Beaufort Castle, where Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters have been exchanging fire as Israel attempts to push north of its established positions, north of the Litani River.
In a televised address on Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of pursuing a “scorched-earth” policy in southern Lebanon, calling the escalation “dangerous and unprecedented” and demanding an immediate ceasefire.
'Eye on the south'
Perched over the Litani Valley, Beaufort Castle sits on a steep cliff overlooking southern Lebanon and northern Israel, giving it long-standing strategic value for observation and control of surrounding valleys and movement routes.
It has been key to controlling the region around it since the Crusaders built it about 900 years ago.
For centuries, the fortress has been both a prize and a vantage point in regional wars, with its elevated position often described by Lebanese military figures as an “eye on the south”.
The Israeli army captured it 44 years ago. In the current war, the wider area has seen some of the fiercest strikes despite a purported ceasefire, including Israeli air raids on nearby villages such as Arnoun and sustained bombardment across surrounding districts.
The castle and surrounding towns have also been affected by repeated displacement orders, which have emptied large parts of southern Lebanon, particularly south of the Zahrani River and along the Litani corridor.
Local accounts describe entire communities fleeing repeated waves of strikes, with displacement spreading across the south as more areas are declared unsafe or uninhabitable.
Video from the early days of the ceasefire last month showed residents briefly returning and removing an Israeli flag from the castle walls, underlining the site's recurring symbolic weight in the conflict.
Military analysts say Beaufort’s elevation still offers surveillance advantages despite drone warfare, which has reduced – but not eliminated – its tactical importance.
The site was previously held by the Palestine Liberation Organisation during the Lebanese civil war and was later seized and fortified by Israeli forces before Israel's withdrawal in 2000 under pressure from Hezbollah.
It then served for nearly 15 years as an Israeli forward operating base, coming under repeated attack before being evacuated and demolished during the 2000 pullout.
More recently, the castle was among historic sites in Lebanon granted additional protection by Unesco during the 2024 escalation of fighting.
Hezbollah has, meanwhile, claimed attacks on Israeli positions, including rocket fire towards the Meron base’s air traffic control unit inside northern Israel and strikes on Kiryat Shmona near the border.
Diplomatic efforts continued in parallel, with Lebanese and Israeli military officials holding US-backed talks at the Pentagon last week despite the escalation on the ground.
Lebanon’s leadership has discussed the fighting and negotiations, with the next round of talks expected in early June.
