Israeli Forces Cross Litani River, Seize Beaufort Castle Near Nabatieh Despite Ceasefire

Israeli forces reached the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh and captured the strategic Beaufort Castle despite a ceasefire agreement in place since April, marking Israel’s deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter of a century.

“Israeli forces have reached the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh and captured the strategic Beaufort Castle despite a ceasefire agreement in place since April, as analysts warn Israel is laying the groundwork for long-term control of territory inside Lebanon”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces crossed the Litani River and advanced toward the Zahrani River, with Israeli troops reaching the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Choukine on the outskirts of Nabatieh.

Al Jazeera

The advance also included strikes reported by Lebanon’s National News Agency, which said Israeli strikes on Deir ez-Zahrani at dawn on Sunday killed several people.

The Israeli military said it was operating near Nabatieh, which it described as a significant Hezbollah power centre in southern Lebanon, and it said it was prepared and ready to expand the offensive as required.

In parallel, the Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said forces from the Golani Brigade had crossed the Litani River and seized the site, with the fortress described as a Crusader-era strongpoint perched on a strategic hilltop.

Lebanon’s political and social stakes were emphasized by Imad Salamey, an international relations professor at the Lebanese American University, who told Al Jazeera that “Nabatieh is strategically important because it represents far more than a military hub.”

Souhayb Jawhar, a Lebanese journalist and analyst, told Al Jazeera that Israeli control over Nabatieh or encircling it would shift “the war from a border zone into the political and social heart of southern Lebanon.”

Al-Monitor

On the diplomatic track, Al Jazeera said Israeli and Lebanese officials continued US-mediated talks aimed at reaching a permanent end to the conflict while outlining plans to disarm Hezbollah, which slammed the negotiations amid Israeli attacks.

Meanwhile, Türkiye Today said the UN Security Council would convene an emergency meeting Monday requested by France to address Israel’s expanding military offensive in Lebanon, including the capture of Beaufort Castle.

Türkiye Today also reported that Washington prepared to host a new round of political negotiations between Israel and Lebanon on June 2 and 3, described as the fourth round of face-to-face negotiations hosted by Washington.

The Israeli advance was framed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a policy shift, with Al-Monitor reporting that he called the capture of Beaufort “a dramatic shift” in the campaign against Hezbollah.

Al-Monitor also reported that Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel Saturday of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment” in the south, urging a halt to the fighting and warning it was “destroying towns and villages, and forcing their inhabitants into exile.”

As the fighting expanded, Al-Monitor said a truce to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on April 17 but has never been observed, with both sides accusing each other daily of violating the ceasefire.

Al-Monitor reported that the Israeli military issued a sweeping evacuation order to areas south of the Zahrani River, north of the Litani and around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border.

In the same reporting, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,412 people since early March, while the Israeli army said it had “since the start of the ceasefire, 900 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated.”