Israel captured the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Sunday, a move carrying both strategic and symbolic weight as Israeli forces push north past the Litani River toward the Zahrani River despite Hezbollah resistance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the operation. "We have returned united, determined and stronger than ever", he said.
The hilltop fortress, which offers commanding views of the surrounding area and aids control of the key city of Nabatieh, served as an Israeli military headquarters during an 18-year occupation of Lebanon that ended in 2000.
Netanyahu said he had ordered an expansion of ground operations, which Israeli authorities described as a response to increasing Hezbollah drone attacks. He is also pressing Washington for approval to strike Beirut, though the U.S. has resisted, as Iran has made a halt to Lebanon fighting a condition of ongoing peace negotiations.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media that nothing justifies "such a large escalation" by Israel in Lebanon. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who pushed for the emergency Security Council session, acknowledged Israel's right to self-defense but said it "cannot justify the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and the ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory".
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper warned the escalation was narrowing diplomatic space alongside causing casualties and infrastructure destruction. "This must stop", she wrote on X. Germany's foreign minister said the Israeli advance was causing "serious concern" and triggering new waves of civilian displacement.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called for immediate compliance with a ceasefire nominally in effect since April 17, saying Israel's "scorched earth" policy amounted to collective punishment, violated international law and would not bring security to Israel itself.
Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that Sunday airstrikes killed eight people, including three women, and wounded 19. Since early March, 3,412 people have been killed and nearly 10,300 wounded. Nearly 400 died in Lebanon in the past week alone.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily attacks since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took hold on April 16, each accusing the other of violations. More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced since hostilities intensified on March 2.
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Source: Polish Radio, PAP