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Israeli Troops Seize Hezbollah Stronghold at Beaufort Castle in Southern Lebanon
Israeli forces seized Beaufort Castle on Sunday in their deepest advance into Lebanon in 26 years. The move follows days of airstrikes and ground fighting near the site and comes days before scheduled talks in Washington.
May 31, 1:06 PM·2m read3 sources
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Israeli troops captured a strategic mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said. The site, known as Beaufort Castle or Al-Shaqif, sits a few kilometers north of the border near Nabatiyeh and overlooks parts of southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
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The military released footage of troops at the castle and said an Israeli flag was raised over the site.
The capture marks the deepest incursion into Lebanon in 26 years, according to the Associated Press. It follows an expansion of ground activity across the Litani River, with troops now operating about 5 kilometers from Nabatiyeh. The Israeli military said its forces took the site after days of airstrikes and fighting in nearby villages.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported multiple Israeli airstrikes across southern villages on Sunday. These included a strike that destroyed a 12-story residential building in Nabatiyeh’s Al-Bayad neighborhood. A separate strike in Deir al-Zahrani killed eight people and wounded 16 others, the National News Agency said.
Hezbollah said it carried out attacks on Israeli troops and a tank near the border town of Bayada. The group also fired rockets into northern Israel, including Kiryat Shmona, on Saturday. Israeli officials reported nearly 200 alerts for drones and missiles across northern Israel in the past 24 hours.
The latest round of fighting has killed 3,350 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million, according to Lebanese authorities. At least 25 Israeli soldiers and one defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon. The capture occurred despite a nominal ceasefire in place since April 17 and days before Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold direct talks in Washington starting Tuesday.
