Israeli occupation forces crossed the Litani River and seized the strategic, Crusader-era Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon on Sunday, expanding their ground invasion and severely threatening a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire.
In a statement released Sunday morning, the occupation military confirmed that units from the Golani, Givati, and 7th Brigades, operating under the command of the 36th Division, are conducting wide-scale maneuvers in the Shaqif (Beaufort) heights and Wadi Al-Suluqi.
The ground push, which aimed to establish what it termed “operational control” and target resistance infrastructure, was preceded by days of forced evacuation orders to southern villages, a security cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and intensive airstrikes, artillery shelling, and engineering works to clear the advance north of the Litani.
The advance was marked by the capture of the historic Beaufort Castle—known locally as Qal’at Al-Shaqif—perched on a strategic ridge overlooking vast expanses of southern Lebanon. Images published by AFP, and released by the military showed the Israeli flag raised over the ancient fortress, with plumes of thick smoke billowing from its perimeter.
Dating to the Crusader era, the castle previously served as a primary military stronghold for Israeli forces during their 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000. The occupation army claimed that Hezbollah had used the heights and adjacent Wadi Al-Suluqi to coordinate military operations and launch hundreds of rockets into northern Israel in recent years.
Confirming the capture, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on X that the occupation forces had “expanded its operations in Lebanon, crossed the Litani River, and controlled the Shaqif heights, one of the most important strategic sites for defending Galilee towns and maintaining the security of the soldiers.”
Katz stated the operation was executed “under the guidance and leadership of the Prime Minister.” He further threatened to occupy more Lebanese territory, declaring that forces would remain at Beaufort Castle as part of an active “security zone” inside Lebanon.
“The army is launching operations against thousands of homes and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah,” Katz added, stating that “the enemy only understands one language: seizing land and destroying homes.”
In response, Hezbollah forces maintained their defense of Lebanese territory, targeting advancing occupation troops. The Israeli military acknowledged Sunday morning that a 21-year-old staff sergeant was killed and four other soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah drone strike on an Israeli unit in southern Lebanon on Saturday evening.
The death brings the military’s acknowledged casualties since the April truce to 13 soldiers.
Simultaneously, Hezbollah launched retaliatory rocket salvos targeting northern Israeli settlements, including Safed, Nahariya, Karmiel, and Kiryat Shmona, for the first time in several weeks. The strikes prompted the Israeli Home Front Command to suspend in-person classes in border settlements and order the closure of several beaches and public facilities across the Western Galilee.
The escalation comes despite a nominally active ceasefire brokered by the US on April 17, which has been systematically eroded by repeated Israeli airstrikes and violations in southern Lebanon.
On Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of practicing a “scorched-earth” policy in the south, warning that continued military operations threaten to completely collapse diplomatic efforts to restore calm and risk dragging the region into a wider war.
As Israeli occupation forces entrench their presence north of the Litani River and threaten further territorial expansion, prospects for stabilizing the weeks-old ceasefire have virtually evaporated, setting the stage for an open-ended, highly volatile confrontation.
