Israeli Troops Capture Beaufort Castle in Deepest Lebanon Incursion
Israeli troops captured beaufort castle near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon after days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages. The move pushed Israeli forces across the Litani River and deeper into territory Israel has designated a combat zone.
Israel Katz said Israeli troops had raised an Israeli flag over the castle, and wrote on his Telegram channel: “Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War, our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there.”
Beaufort Castle and the Litani River
Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, posted a photograph on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle. The capture followed days of fighting with Hezbollah members in the rugged area around Beaufort castle, where the castle sits on a mountain south of Nabatiyeh.
Israeli troops previously captured Beaufort castle in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. The current push comes despite a nominal ceasefire in place since April, and it extends Israeli operations beyond the Litani River toward the Zahrani River.
Hezbollah Claims in Bayada
Overnight, Hezbollah claimed two attacks targeting Israeli troops and a Merkava tank in the southwestern town of Bayada near the border. Hezbollah’s account stands alongside the Israeli army’s statement that one of its soldiers was killed the previous day by a Hezbollah explosive drone in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll in the country since March was 3,371. Lebanon’s prime minister, Nawaf Salam, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, remain listed among the main figures tied to the widening fighting, while US President Donald Trump is named in the broader diplomatic backdrop.
Israel’s Wider Lebanon Push
The capture is being described as Israel’s deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter of a century. That is why the site matters now: Beaufort castle is not only a military position, but a marker of how far Israeli troops have moved in southern Lebanon after days of airstrikes and ground fighting.
Talks were due in the US State Department on 2 and 3 June, placing the battlefield shift against a diplomatic timetable that was already under pressure. For southern Lebanon, the immediate reality is that Israeli troops now hold a castle near Nabatiyeh that they had not controlled since 2000.
