For centuries the Crusader-era Beaufort Castle has borne witness to and been a staging post for the warring armies that have marched through south Lebanon.
Perched imposingly on a steep rock face and peering imperiously into Israel and south Lebanon, the 12th-century citadel is consumed by conflict again. On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike barrelled into the neighbouring village of Arnoun, and the wider area is witnessing some of the fiercest air strikes and ground fighting despite a purported ceasefire.
“Whoever controls the fortress controls an eye on the south,” said Mounir Shehadeh, a retired Lebanese army general who served in senior positions including in south Lebanon.
The National recently drove along the winding road that hugs the Litani River below the castle. An Israeli flag was ripped from its walls when residents briefly returned in the first days of the ceasefire.
Now the villages and towns that neighbour the castle have become ghost towns, vacated by Israel's forced displacement orders. Those orders have continued despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah that is almost constantly breached.
With Israel already occupying a buffer zone, reaching a “yellow line” as far as 10km into south Lebanon, its military over the past week has also ordered the displacement of dozens of villages and towns north of the area and the Litani, effectively making them uninhabitable, too.
“The war never ended. Everyone left,” said Ahmed, who is originally from Zawtar Al Charqiyeh near Beaufort and recalls happy childhood memories there.
Among those who fled Zawtar Al Charqiyeh, one of the most heavily bombed towns outside Israel's buffer zone in south Lebanon, was Ahmed's mother. She joined more than 1.2 million people – a number still rising – who have been displaced by the conflict and are unable to return home to areas that have become uninhabitable.
Limited satellite images from above Zawtar Al Charqiyeh suggest that a once-thriving town has been reduced to rubble in recent weeks, as Israel's demolition of villages that dot the border region proceeds further north.
Flags and armies
During the first days of the ceasefire last month, when residents were briefly able to return, footage of one removing the Israeli flag from Beaufort went viral – the latest in a long list of flags that have been hoisted from its ramparts.
Long before it was the site of modern day clashes, medieval armies would tussle there. Despite that, advantages from olden times still persist today.
“Beaufort is above a seismic cliff that houses a great number of grottos and rock-cut rooms,” says Jean Yasmine, a conservation architect who was the manager of a restoration project at Beaufort between 2001 and 2015. “These may be used to house observation points controlling the whole landscape underneath.
“It was the case since Byzantine time until today so the soldier can monitor the movements of enemy troops all around [and] in specific cases, bomb them,” added Mr Yasmine, who also works with Lebanon's Directorate General of Antiquities.
Currently, the DGA can't go to the site to check on its state with the castle surrounded by conflict, even if the citadel has not been hit directly.
Now, the famous castle finds itself alone, surrounded by an eerie network of empty roads haunted by the sound of the looming drones; sound carries easily throughout the valleys and hills that traverse this part of south Lebanon.
Some of the most fierce ground clashes have taken place nearby, including what Hezbollah says was an ambush this week.
Hezbollah said it had observed Israel soldiers moving north of Deir Seryan towards Zawtar Al Charqiyeh, who were met with gunfire in a “violent short-range confrontation”. They claimed a helicopter that came to evacuate wounded soldiers was also fired on, while footage online seemingly recorded from nearby the fighting carried the sound of intense clashes.
In many respects it comes as a surprise that Beaufort Castle appears empty. At around 800 metres above sea level, with steep slopes making access difficult, it makes for a good defensive position, said Gen Shehadeh – although it requires significant effort to control and retain.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation held it in the early years of the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War, until it was heavily shelled, seized and occupied by Israeli forces. The damaged fortress turned into an Israeli forward operating base, coming under heavy fire from Hezbollah. The Israeli military then relinquished control in 2000, fleeing back across the border under heavy pressure from Hezbollah.
During the 2024 war, the castle was among the historic sites to which Unesco granted additional protection.
In the early years of Beaufort Castle's history, Sultan Salah Al Din captured it from Crusaders in 1190 after gathering his troops in nearby Marjayoun. He held it for 50 years before the Barons' Crusade took control.
With the onset of aerial warfare – with drones playing a crucial part of the current conflict – Beaufort perhaps has less tactical significance compared to the Crusades.
“Aircraft and drones have relatively reduced the importance of high ground,” said Gen Shehadeh. “However: high ground remains important … elevation equals visual and fire control.”
