Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to push deeper into Lebanon after his military took over the medieval castle of Beaufort on Sunday, calling it a “dramatic shift” in the campaign against Hezbollah.
The Iran-backed militant group, meanwhile, said it targeted Israeli army positions and infrastructure in Shlomi and Nahariya in northern Israel, while air raid sirens blared in the Acre area.
As fighting escalated in Lebanon, diplomatic sources told AFP that the United Nations Security Council would hold an emergency meeting on Monday over Israel’s expansion of its offensive in the country.
The meeting was requested by France, whose President Emmanuel Macron said that “nothing justifies the major escalation under way in south Lebanon”, calling for an end to fighting “for good”.
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader.
A truce to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on April 17, but has never been observed. Both sides accuse each other daily of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by the other’s alleged breaches.
Military delegations from Lebanon and Israel held security talks in Washington on Friday, with more US-brokered negotiations planned next week.
Israeli forces used the Beaufort castle, also known as Qalaat al-Chakif, as a base during their previous two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.
In a video statement released hours after the military took Beaufort, Netanyahu said “we have returned united, determined and stronger than ever”.
“Now my directive is to deepen and expand our hold in places that were under Hezbollah’s control. The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading.”
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said that Beaufort is “a national archaeological site… and was not a military site for the resistance”, adding the raising of the Israeli flag there “should provoke the feelings of every loyal patriot”.
Shelling was audible and smoke rose from the surrounding area as AFP saw the Israeli flag above the castle.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops had captured the historic strongpoint, which commands sweeping views of south Lebanon, as they expanded their ground operations.
