12th-Century Castle in Lebanon Falls to Israel's Expanded Push

Israeli troops captured a strategic mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in the deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter-century, the military said Sunday. The capture of Beaufort castle, near the city of Nabatiyeh, came after days of airstrikes and intense fighting in nearby villages where Israeli troops fought Hezbollah members in the rugged area. Its capture marks a major development in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, the AP reports, which began on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the US and Israel attacked its main backer, Iran.

Israel has since launched a ground invasion, capturing dozens of Lebanese villages and towns close to the border. Hezbollah has launched thousands of missiles and drones at Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. The Israeli push came despite a nominal ceasefire that has been in place since April 17 and just before Lebanon and Israel hold their next round of direct talks in Washington starting Tuesday. The Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson posted photos on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle, and Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that they raised an Israeli flag over it. Israeli troops previously captured the castle in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

The spokesperson said Israel intends to hold the castle as its troops destroy thousands more homes that he says were used by Hezbollah and other military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The Beaufort fortress, perched high atop Lebanon's rolling green hills and overlooking the Litani River, has been a strategic military asset for centuries. Built as a Crusader castle around the 12th century on top of previous fortifications, it was also used by Saladin's Jerusalem army, Mamluks, Ottomans, the French mandate, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Israeli military until 2000, when it was partially restored and opened to visitors. During the previous Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, UNESCO gave enhanced protection to 34 cultural sites in Lebanon including Beaufort Castle to safeguard them from damage.