Israeli troops have captured a strategic mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter century, bragging about planting the flag on the medieval fortress of Beaufort.
The capture of Beaufort near the city of Nabatiyeh came after days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages where Israeli troops fought Hezbollah members in the rugged area.
The capture of the castle marks a major gain for Israel since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in early March and as the two countries hold direct talks in Washington.
The Israeli push came despite a nominal ceasefire that has been in place since April 17.
The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted a photograph on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle.
Defense Minister Israel Katz also wrote on X, saying that they had raised an Israeli flag over the castle.
"Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War (1982), our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there," Katz said on his Telegram channel.
Israeli troops previously captured the castle in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it launched an operation a few days ago in the Beaufort Ridge and the Suluki valley further south with the aim of dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure and removing "direct threats to Israeli civilians.”
The statement said the army is ready “to expand the operation if needed.”
Israeli troops have been advancing for days in villages close to Beaufort castle after crossing the Litani River, which the Israeli military previously used as a de facto boundary. They are now about 5 kilometers from the city of Nabatiyeh, a major center in southern Lebanon.
Also Sunday, the Israeli military warned Lebanese civilians living south of the Zahrani river to evacuate the region, warning that it was stepping up operations against Hezbollah.
"Residents of southern Lebanon, you must move immediately to north of the Zahrani," Adraee posted on social media.
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.
Hezbollah in recent weeks has frustrated Israel with attacks on troops and northern towns using hard-to-detect fiber optic drones.
The Israeli army announced Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed the previous day by a Hezbollah explosive drone in southern Lebanon.
In total, 25 Israelis have been killed - 24 soldiers and one civilian contractor - since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resumed on March 2.
