Israeli forces seize Crusader-era Beaufort Castle in deepest Lebanon push since 2000, triggering UN Security Council emergency session

A strategic prize seized

Israeli forces on Sunday captured the medieval Beaufort Castle, a Crusader-built fortress perched over 700 meters above sea level in southern Lebanon. The site, also known as Al-Shaqif or Qalaat al-Chakif, offers commanding views across southern Lebanon and into northern Israel and has served as a military asset for nearly a millennium. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the capture a "dramatic shift" and a "dramatic stage" in the campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, vowing to deepen and expand Israel's hold on areas previously under Hezbollah control.

The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading.

Defense Minister Israel Katz celebrated the return to the site 44 years after what he called the "heroic battle of Beaufort" during Israel's first war in Lebanon. The IDF said the operation focused on establishing control of the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area while degrading Hezbollah infrastructure established under Iranian direction. One Israeli soldier was killed in the operation.

A history of conflict

Beaufort has changed hands repeatedly over the centuries, used by Crusaders, Saladin's army, Mamluks, Ottomans, the French mandate, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and the Israeli military during its two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000. For Israelis, the name evokes both the victory of its 1982 capture and the painful cost of defending it until the withdrawal. Orna Mizrahi, a former deputy director in Israel's National Security Council and now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, reflected on the circular nature of the return.

There's a feeling of, 'For what?'

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah insisted the castle is "a national archaeological site" and not a military site for the resistance, calling the raising of the Israeli flag there an act that should provoke "the indignation of every patriot." The fortress had received enhanced UNESCO protection in 2024, and Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salamé had expressed concern days earlier about the "serious danger" posed by the Israeli offensive.

Ceasefire in name only

A US-brokered truce to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on April 17 but has never been observed, with both sides accusing each other of daily violations. Saturday saw one of the heaviest days of Hezbollah fire toward northern Israel since the ceasefire, prompting school closures and restrictions. Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli forces near the fortress as well as positions in Shlomi and Nahariya, while air raid sirens sounded in the Acre area. The group entered the conflict on March 2, firing rockets and drones into Israel days after the US-Israeli operation that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Diplomatic fallout

France requested an emergency UN Security Council session, to be held Monday, over Israel's expansion of its offensive. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot declared that nothing justifies the continuation of Israeli military operations or the growing occupation of Lebanese territory, calling the castle's seizure a "grave error" and a violation of international law. President Emmanuel Macron said nothing justifies the major escalation underway and called for an end to fighting "for good."

Nothing justifies the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon nor the growing occupation of Lebanese territory.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of implementing a "scorched-earth policy and collective punishment" and a "policy of total destruction of cities and towns." Despite the daily clashes, a fourth round of direct negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese delegations is due to be held in Washington this week, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly expected to announce a new agreement.

The human toll

Over 3,300 people, including dozens of children, have been killed in Lebanon since fighting began on March 2, with about 1 million displaced. At least 25 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel, along with two civilians. Netanyahu claimed Israel has killed 8,000 Hezbollah militants since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, including 700 in the last month. As Israeli forces advanced, evacuation orders were issued for residents south of the Zahrani river. Former IDF top general Gadi Eisenkot, now a political rival to Netanyahu, visited the northern border and warned of the risks of declaring an end to fighting while troops remain deep inside Lebanese territory.

Professor Yagil Levy, director of the Institute for the Study of Civil-Military Relations at the Open University of Israel, described the castle's capture primarily as an "image victory" aimed at presenting an accomplishment amid growing public skepticism.

Protests are intensifying in the northern communities, criticism is emerging within the army itself regarding soldiers' vulnerability to drone attacks, Hezbollah remains intact, and there is no realistic plan for its disarmament.