Israeli army captures strategic castle in Lebanon in deepest incursion
into country in 26 years
[June 01, 2026]
By BASSEM MROUE, KAREEM CHEHAYEB and MELANIE LIDMAN
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-Noël 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.
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Israeli soldiers drive a tank in southern Lebanon as seen from
northern Israel, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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.
___
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press Writer Edith
M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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