The Israeli Army captured the historic and strategic Beaufort Castle this Sunday. It is the deepest ground incursion of its troops into Lebanese territory in more than a quarter of a century, but also much more: the taking of this Crusade-era fortress not only marks a major escalation in the offensive of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against the Shiite group Hezbollah (when they are supposed to be in a truce), but also affects a powerful symbol of the traumatic wars of the past, on both sides of the border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called this capture of this 900-year-old space a “crucial milestone” and a “radical change” in his country’s military policy, surpassing even the Lebanese crisis. “We have broken the barrier of fear. We are taking the initiative and operating on all fronts,” Netanyahu declared, linking the operation in the north with the ongoing campaigns in Syria and the Gaza Strip (Palestine).
The fortress, known in Arabic as Qalaat al-Shaquif (Castle of the Rock), stands 710 meters above sea level at the top of a rocky cliff overlooking the Litani River gorge. From its imposing position, it offers a panoramic view that covers vast areas of southern Lebanon and northern Israel, located less than 10 kilometers from the Lebanese city of Nabatieh.
An echo of history and the weight of nostalgia
For Israel, the return to Beaufort is loaded with deep military and emotional symbolism. Defense Minister Israel Katz recalled the fierce battle fought there 44 years ago against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) at the beginning of the First Lebanon War in 1982. Katz highlighted that the same Golani Brigade, which took control of the bastion at that time, returned this Sunday to raise the Israeli flag over its equestrian ruins.
That original occupation lasted until May 2000, when Israeli troops hastily withdrew from what they called their “security strip” and which is an occupation for the Lebanese. Now, 26 years after that withdrawal, the IDF is treading the same ground again.
However, on Israel’s domestic political level, nostalgia for Beaufort camouflages much more severe and uncomfortable questions about the true objectives and long-term costs of reoccupying southern Lebanon, reviving the specter of a conflict of attrition that trapped the country for almost two decades, as analyst Amos Harel highlights this morning in the newspaper Haaretz.
The heritage value of the site adds another layer of international complexity. Just in November 2024, UNESCO’s Hague Convention Committee granted Beaufort Castle “provisional enhanced protection” status, classifying it as a cultural asset of great importance to humanity under the Lebanese government’s promise that it would never be used for military purposes.
International reactions and humanitarian crisis
The maneuver of the Israeli ground forces, which are now decisively advancing beyond the demarcation line of the Litani River and aiming towards the Zahrani River, provoked strong condemnation from the European powers.
France, which maintains historic diplomatic and cultural ties with Lebanon, formally requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council. It will be today. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on his social networks that “it is urgent that the weapons remain silent, all of them, and forever,” warning that “nothing justifies the great escalation underway.”
For their part, the British Foreign Minister, Yvette Cooper, and the German Minister, Johann Wadephul, expressed their deep concern about the escalation of fighting, pointing out that the destruction of infrastructure erodes any space for diplomacy and predicts new waves of forced displacement.
From Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel in a televised speech of implementing a “scorched earth policy and collective punishment.” The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the air and ground campaign has left more than 3,300 dead in the country since open hostilities broke out on March 2, when Hezbollah launched a massive barrage of rockets in retaliation for an Israeli attack that claimed the life of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
The IDF, for its part, issued new mass evacuation orders for all Lebanese territory located below the Zahrani River, warning civilians that anyone remaining near Hezbollah installations or fighters puts their lives in imminent danger.
Does it serve modern warfare?
The debate among military strategists centers on whether the capture of Beaufort grants a real advantage in the age of drones and technological warfare, or whether it is a purely psychological victory.
Arab and international military analysts agree that the castle’s geographical position remains valuable for monitoring movement flows between southern rivers and countering Hezbollah drone raids. Some Lebanese experts even suggest that the loss of control of the hill represents a severe setback for the Shiite militia, opening the door to a new military phase that could directly threaten Beirut’s southern suburbs.
However, critics argue that Israel exaggerates the tactical impact of the operation. Currently, Beaufort lacked modern fortifications, air defense systems or armored command centers. Experts point out that Hezbollah has long replaced the doctrine of defending exposed hills with tactics of asymmetrical concealment, using a dense and intricate network of underground tunnels, the BBC indicates.
As official delegations from the governments of Israel and Lebanon prepare to travel to Washington this week to engage in a fourth round of negotiations – an effort to salvage a temporary ceasefire agreement that is already in virtual tatters – the Lebanese army and state institutions stand by as mere spectators to a war being fought on their own soil, crowned today by the raising of a foreign flag on the battlements of its most famous fortress.
