Israeli forces are making their deepest incursion into Lebanon since withdrawing from the country more than a quarter-century ago, despite a nominal US-brokered ceasefire and the first direct talks between the two countries in decades.
The Israeli advance represents a challenge to the emerging agreement to extend the ceasefire in the Iran war, as Tehran wants any agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon as well. Qatar described it as a “dangerous escalation.” The German Foreign Minister said that this raises serious concern, according to the German News Agency. There was no comment from the United States.
Israeli forces on Sunday captured a symbolic fort in southern Lebanon that offers stunning views across Lebanon and northern Israel. The last time they took it, they held it for 18 years.
Israel says it is targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which has a strong political presence in southern Lebanon and has fired thousands of missiles and drones at Israeli soldiers there and in northern Israel.
Israel warned Lebanese civilians throughout the south to evacuate or risk being caught in the line of fire. On Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of “implementing a policy of comprehensive destruction of cities and towns.”
More than 3,300 people, including dozens of children, have been killed in Lebanon since the fighting began on March 2, two days after the start of the war against Iran. About one million people have been displaced. At least 25 Israeli soldiers and defense contractors were killed in Lebanon or northern Israel, along with two civilians in northern Israel.
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The fort has been a military asset for nearly 1,000 years
Israeli forces captured Beaufort, also called Beaufort, which was built as a Crusader castle around the 12th century and was later used by Saladin’s army in Jerusalem, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the French Mandate, and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who last week pledged to “increase strikes,” noted that Beaufort is “a symbol of a heroic battle for our fighters” but also “a symbol of the deep division between us.”
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Orna Mizrahi, former deputy director of the government’s National Security Council, said the fort evokes a feeling of triumph over its capture by the Israeli army in 1982, but it also symbolizes the high price of defending it before its handover in 2000.
Mizrahi, now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, said the army’s return looks like Israel is spinning in a vicious circle. “There’s a feeling of, ‘For what?’
She added that Israel was likely to eventually relinquish control, even as Defense Minister Israel Katz pledged to make Beaufort part of Israel’s permanent security zone in southern Lebanon.
Mizrahi said that the military presence would not solve the problem with Hezbollah: “Yes, we are harming them in operations, but in parallel we need to seek a political and diplomatic solution.”
Israel sees a threat to its northern communities
Israel has long viewed Hezbollah as a threat. The Shiite armed group emerged in 1982 in response to the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah targeted communities in northern Israel and joined the war in Gaza in 2023 in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel severely weakened Hezbollah during the months of war. The fighting ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in late 2024 after indirect talks, and Israeli forces withdrew except for five strategic hilltops along the border.
The new Lebanese government came to power with promises to disarm groups such as Hezbollah, but the militants resisted. At the same time, Israel claimed that Hezbollah was rearming and rebuilding itself.
On March 2, Hezbollah again fired on Israel, prompting Israel to invade southern Lebanon. Israel recently said it was trying to prevent Hezbollah from using a new type of fiber-optic drone against its forces and civilians. The drone has been widely used in the war in Ukraine.
Lebanon says that Israel has gone too far
Hundreds of thousands of people fled southern Lebanon after Israeli forces launched air strikes and ground forces entered the country. Many people are now taking refuge in the capital, Beirut, where hundreds have been killed, including in intense bombing in April.
The United States brokered a ceasefire that began in mid-April. Unlike in the Iran war, this did not hold.
Israeli forces now control large areas in southern Lebanon and have destroyed homes and historical sites. Lebanese Prime Minister Salam said on Saturday that Israel is trying to “uproot Lebanon’s memory and erase the history of the people.”
Hezbollah refused to accept the results of the talks
Talks between senior officials from Israel and Lebanon began in April in Washington, the first in more than three decades between the two countries, which do not have formal diplomatic relations.
On Friday, the first direct military talks in decades took place.
Issues to be resolved include Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the deployment of Lebanese forces there, and the disarmament of Hezbollah, which refused to give up its weapons while Israeli forces remained in the country.
Talks will continue this week. Hezbollah did not participate and said it would not accept any results. The group prefers that negotiations take advantage of Iranian influence and sees the Lebanese government as weak, a position shared by others in the country.
The Lebanese people are divided over the talks, the announcement of which was met with protests. Many Lebanese are angry at Hezbollah for the devastation it has caused in the country but are also wary of Israel.
The Lebanese Prime Minister described direct negotiations as “the least expensive option currently,” adding that they do not mean surrender, acknowledging that they are not guaranteed to achieve results.
___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut, and Anna reported from Lovell, New York.
