Israeli Army Captures Lebanon Castle   06/01 06:27

   

   BEIRUT (AP) -- Israeli troops have 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, while U.S. 
Secretary of State spoke to Lebanese and Israeli leaders in an effort keep 
negotiations going.

   The taking of Beaufort castle, near the city of Nabatiyeh, followed days of 
airstrikes and intense fighting in nearby villages between Israeli troops and 
Hezbollah militants.

   The capture marked a major Israeli advance in the latest Israel-Hezbollah 
war, which began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel 
two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked its main backer, Iran.

   Since then, Israel has 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 days before Lebanon and Israeli hold their next round 
of direct talks in Washington starting Tuesday.

   Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to propose a fresh path to continue 
ongoing negotiations, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of 
anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations. Under the proposal, 
Hezbollah would halt all attacks on Israel and Israel would refrain from 
escalating military operations in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, according to 
the official.

   In a televised statement, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key 
Hezbollah ally, said he can guarantee the militant group's "full, comprehensive 
and immediate commitment to a ceasefire."

   "But who will force Israel to stop its aggression?" he said in a statement 
on his television station, NBN.

   French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot requested an emergency meeting of 
the United Nations Security Council to discuss Israeli military operations in 
Lebanon, which he described as "unacceptable."

   "Nothing can justify the prolongation of Israeli military operations in 
Lebanon and its increasingly deep occupation of Lebanese territory," Barrot 
said Sunday on French television BFM TV.

   Diplomats said the council meeting might take place Monday afternoon, 
speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

   A historic and strategic fortress

   The Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted 
photographs on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle, and Defense 
Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that they raised an Israeli flag over the 
castle. Israeli troops previously captured the castle in 1982 and held it until 
they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

   "Twenty six years after the withdrawal from the security zone in Lebanon, 
the Israeli flag has returned to fly on the peaks that overlook the Galilee 
towns," Katz said Sunday at a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in 
its previous occupation of southern Lebanon.

   Katz said Israel intends to hold the castle as its troops work to 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 has also been used by Saladin's Jerusalem army, Mamluks, 
Ottomans, the French mandate and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The 
Crusaders named it Beaufort, which is Old French for "beautiful fortress."

   The 1982 capture of the castle from the PLO was a major victory for the 
Israeli military, which was then led by Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, who 
later became prime minister. At the time, the Israeli army pushed all the way 
north and occupied Beirut.

   In 2000, the castle 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.

   The castle is a few kilometers north of the Israel border and overlooks wide 
parts of southern Lebanon and northern Israel. In Arabic, it is called 
Al-Shaqif castle, an old Syriac word referring to the formidable rocky area.

   Beaufort is symbolic across the region, including in Israel, where it was 
one of the best-known places Israel controlled during the 18-year occupation. 
An Israeli film titled "Beaufort" explores moral questions about war in the 
last days before the military withdrew.

   Israel expands invasion in Lebanon

   In recent days, Israel has expanded the scope of its operations in Lebanon, 
sending troops across the Litani River, which previously served as a de-facto 
boundary, and demanding that residents leave much of southern Lebanon.

   "The occupation of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the 
policies we are leading," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 
Sunday, citing the military occupation of security zones in Syria, Lebanon and 
Gaza along Israel's borders. He said Israel has killed 3,000 Hezbollah 
militants since the start of the war. Hezbollah has not disclosed its casualty 
numbers.

   Israel has designated the area from the Litani up to the Zahrani River a 
combat zone. Some residents have already left the area due to intense strikes 
in recent days, but people remain.

   Israeli troops have been advancing for days in villages close to Beaufort 
castle. They are now about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Nabatiyeh, a major 
center in southern Lebanon. They have called on people to leave that area, as 
well as the coastal city of Tyre, the country's fourth-largest city, and its 
surroundings.

   There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or the Lebanese government on 
the Israeli push.

   The expanded operation would give Israel an upper hand in the upcoming talks 
with Lebanon in Washington, said Beirut geopolitical analyst Joe Macaron.

   "We are at a tipping point," Macaron said, adding that it is still too early 
to say how Hezbollah will react to the loss of land. "The more land they (the 
Israeli military) can grab before the ceasefire, the more they can impose 
conditions on Hezbollah before their withdrawal."

   Exchanges of fire across the border continue

   Israel has continued striking near Tyre, including near the Hiram Hospital. 
The Lebanese Health Ministry said 13 health workers were wounded in the strike. 
Elsewhere, a strike in Deir al-Zahrani, near Nabatiyeh, killed eight people and 
wounded 16 others, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.

   Hezbollah overnight claimed two attacks targeting Israeli troops and a 
Merkava tank in the southwestern town of Bayada near the border. In recent 
days, the group has said it has clashed with Israeli troops in several towns 
just north of the river near Nabatiyeh and the strategic castle. It also 
claimed attacks deeper into Israel near the northern city of Haifa, Nahariya, 
as well as border areas.

   Hezbollah on Saturday fired salvos of rockets into northern Israel, 
including Kiryat Shmona, the largest city in the area.

   Hezbollah's use of hard-to-detect fiber optic drones has been deadly for the 
Israeli military, which is struggling to respond. There have been nearly 200 
alerts for Israeli civilians across northern Israel warning of drones and 
missiles in the past 24 hours, according to Israel's military.

   The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 3,350 
people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million people.

   According to Netanyahu's office, at least 25 Israeli soldiers and a defense 
contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, including one on 
Saturday. Two civilians have also been killed in northern Israel.