Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli army’s control of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon represents a “dramatic transformation,” considering that the return of Israeli forces to the site comes within a new phase of Israeli military policy in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria.
In a speech regarding the Israeli army’s control of Beaufort Castle, Netanyahu said that Israel “returned to Beaufort stronger than ever before,” noting that Israeli army forces crossed the Litani River and took control of strategic sites in Lebanon.
He added that controlling Beaufort Castle constitutes an “additional stage” in Israeli policy, pointing out that Israel is working on all fronts in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon, and that it has established buffer zones, as he put it.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel “broke the barrier of fear,” adding that it was now taking the initiative and acting on various fronts. He also stressed that the process needed more time, but pledged to restore security to the residents of the north, “just as we did with the residents of the south,” he said.
In the context of his talk about the confrontation with Hezbollah, Netanyahu said that the Israeli army killed about 700 members of the party during the last month, a number for which there was no independent confirmation, and it comes within the Israeli narrative of the outcome of the escalating military operations in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s statements come after Israel announced the expansion of its military operations in the Beaufort Heights and Wadi Saluki, and its talk about its forces crossing the Litani River and trying to establish control over high-altitude sites of strategic importance in southern Lebanon.
Beaufort Castle carries great military and political symbolism in Israeli and Lebanese memory, as it overlooks large areas of the south and overlooks sensitive axes linked to Nabatieh, the Litani, and internal roads. Therefore, Netanyahu’s evocation of the site is inseparable from the attempt to present the operation as a field and moral achievement at the same time.
Also, his talk about “buffer zones” in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza reflects a clear Israeli trend towards establishing new security facts on more than one front, under the title of protecting settlements and limiting the capabilities of opponents, but in return it opens the door to a broader escalation and Lebanese rejection of any Israeli military presence inside Lebanese territory.
On the other hand, Hezbollah continues to announce operations against Israeli forces in several axes, including Al-Shaqif, Zawtar Al-Sharqiya, Yahmar, Dibbin, and Al-Ghandouriya, stressing that it is targeting Israeli attempts to advance with devices, drones, missile launches, and direct clashes.
Netanyahu’s speech comes at a moment when the southern front is witnessing a major escalation, with intense Israeli raids on southern towns, and warning and evacuation communications that affected several areas, coinciding with a French move towards the Security Council to discuss the situation in Lebanon.
Between Netanyahu’s speech about the “dramatic transformation” and the continued clashes on the ground, Beaufort Castle appears to be a new address in a battle that goes beyond the borders of the site itself, becoming part of a broader struggle over control, the narrative, and the future of southern Lebanon.
