Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israeli forces have captured Beaufort Castle, a historic medieval fortress in south Lebanon near Nabatieh, and have planted an Israeli flag on the site. Katz links the announcement to Israel’s First Lebanon War commemorations, saying troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort, where an earlier battle took place in 1982. Multiple outlets report that Katz frames the capture as a tactical milestone in Israel’s wider ground campaign against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group operating in Lebanon.
Bloomberg adds that the move reflects an expanded ground incursion, described by Katz as establishing a “permanent presence” in the region. Al Jazeera reports Israel also issues additional displacement orders in Lebanon alongside the seizure of the castle, indicating that the ground expansion includes measures affecting civilians in targeted areas.
The reports present the operation as part of Israel’s response to escalating Hezbollah attacks on Israel’s north, while Lebanon’s internal situation and any Israeli or Lebanese casualty figures are not detailed in the provided summaries.
