Israel captures Lebanon's medieval Beaufort Castle in 'deepest incursion in 26 years'
Israelโs flag flew over the medieval fortress on Beaufort in Lebanon on Sunday as it warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate a large area of the south of the country ahead of stepped-up ground operations. The Associated Press noted that Israelโs capture of the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and its strategic ridge in southern Lebanon was Israelโs deepest incursion into the country in 26 years. Shelling was audible and smoke rose from the surrounding area as the invading armyโs banner was seen by AFP above the castle, which Israeli forces famously used as a base during their previous two-decade-long occupation. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops had captured the historic strongpoint, which commands sweeping views of south Lebanon, as they expanded their ground operations, which Lebanonโs prime minister has condemned as a โscorched earthโ policy. โForty-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,โ Katz said, in a social media post. โUnder Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and my direction, the IDF expanded the operations in Lebanon, crossed the Litani River, and captured the Beaufort Ridge โ one of the most important strategic points for defending the communities of the Galilee and safeguarding the security of our forces.โ Describing the capture as a โmajor gain for Israelโ, AP said Israeli troops previously captured the castle in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. It elaborated that the 1982 capture of the castle from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was a โmajor victory for the Israeli militaryโ led by then-defence minister Ariel Sharon, which โpushed all the way north and occupied Beirutโ at the time. The push to Beaufort came as the Israeli military issued a sweeping displacement order to areas south of the Zahrani River, north of the Litani and around 40 kilometres from the border, claiming that it was targeting Hezbollah. โAnyone present near Hezbollah elements, facilities, or combat means endangers their life. Any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes may become subject to targeting!โ Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned in a social media post. โCollective punishmentโ โA significant number of IDF ground soldiers commenced offensive operations aimed at expanding the Forward Defence Lineโฆ The operation is currently expanding to additional areas,โ the Israeli military said. Lebanonโs Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had accused Israel on Saturday of pursuing a โscorched-earth policy and collective punishmentโ in the south, urging a halt to the fighting and warning it was โdestroying towns and villages, and forcing their inhabitants into exileโ. Military delegations from both countries held security talks in Washington on Friday, with more US-brokered negotiations planned next week. Salam said the outcome of the negotiations was โnot guaranteedโ, but called them โthe least costly path for our country and our peopleโ. A truce to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah officially began on April 17, but has never been observed. Both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other daily of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by the otherโs alleged breaches. A US statement issued after Fridayโs Israel-Lebanon talks made no mention of the truce, but said the โproductive military-to-military discussionsโ would inform next weekโs political meeting. Hezbollah vehemently opposes the direct talks. On Saturday, the armed group said it launched multiple attacks targeting northern Israel and clashed with Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. โDrone deathโ Hezbollah said it was confronting Israeli forces around the outskirts of the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Yohmor al-Shaqif and Dibbine, adding that the troops โhad not yet succeeded in taking control of the townsโ. The Israeli military told AFP that more than 25 projectiles were launched from Lebanon towards Israel on Saturday, while air alert sirens sounded in the northern cities of Karmiel and Safed for the first time since the ceasefire, according to the armyโs Home Front Command. Public broadcaster Kan aired footage shared on social media showing rockets falling into the sea off Israelโs Nahariya, near the border, sending beachgoers fleeing. The Israeli army also said on Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed a day prior by a Hezbollah explosive drone, bringing to 25 the number of Israeli military deaths in Lebanon since early March. The Lebanese health ministry says that Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,371 people since March 2.