The Israeli military said on Sunday its forces had captured Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, in what would mark Israel’s deepest ground advance into Lebanese territory in 26 years, as fighting with Hezbollah intensifies.
In a post on X, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Col Avichay Adraee said “our soldiers are writing a new chapter … by planting their flag at Beaufort Castle”.
He said the site is a “fortress” associated with Hezbollah, adding that it had “crumbled” and framing the development as a blow to the Iran-backed group. The post included pictures of soldiers walking around the ruins of the castle.
As the Israeli military expands operations, it said on Sunday that an Israeli soldier had been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon. It said four other soldiers were lightly wounded in the same incident, 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.
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.
'Eye on the south'
For centuries, the Crusades-era fortress has long 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”.
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 evacuation 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 said 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, 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 in 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 have 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.
