Closing summary
The Guardian’s live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East is coming to a close for today.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israeli forces’ capture of Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon marked a “dramatic shift” in Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel has stepped up its offensive in Lebanon with the taking of the hilltop castle. Large areas of Lebanon are under evacuation orders as Israel intensifies its fight with Hezbollah. More on today’s key events below:
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Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said troops will remain in Beaufort as part of Israel’s security zone in Lebanon. In a post on X, Katz said: “At the direction of prime minister Netanyahu and at my direction, the IDF expanded the manoeuvre in Lebanon, crossed the Litani River, and captured the Beaufort ridge – one of the most important strategic points for defending the settlements of the Galilee and safeguarding the security of our forces.
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Following the capture of Beaufort, the Israeli military issued a sweeping evacuation order to areas south of the Zahrani river, north of the Litani and around 25 miles from the border. “For the sake of your safety, we direct this to all residents located south of the Zahleh River – as indicated on the map – that you must evacuate your homes immediately,” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.
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France requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations security council after Israeli forces seized Beaufort. “I have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council because, while we recognise Israel’s right, like that of all countries, to self-defence... nothing can justify the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and its ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory,” Jean-Noel Barrot said on the BFMTV channel.
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An Israeli strike near a hospital in Tyre, south Lebanon wounded 13 staffers, the Lebanese health ministry said. “The Israeli enemy launched an airstrike in the vicinity of Hiram Hospital in Tyre, injuring 13 hospital staff members and causing significant damage,” the ministry said in a statement, urging “the international community to put an end to the escalating and expanding Israeli attacks”.
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US secretary of state Marco Rubio is expected to announce a new ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel following political track negotiations in Washington Tuesday, the Lebanon Broadcasting Corporation International reported, citing sources. Talks are due to take place on 2 and 3 June in Washington.
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The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll in the country since March was 3,371, including civilians and combatants. The Israeli army announced Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed the previous day by a Hezbollah explosive drone in southern Lebanon, bringing to 25 the number of Israeli military deaths since early March.
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While the focus today has mainly been on events in Lebanon, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the country will not accept any agreement ending its conflict with the US unless there is certainty that the Iranian people’s rights are secured. “There is no trust in the enemy’s words and promises. Our only criterion is to achieve tangible results before we fulfil our commitments in return,” he said.
Some Israeli analysts and military experts downplayed the capture of Beaufort castle and its strategic ridge in southern Lebanon, describing it as a largely symbolic victory – one that delivered a public relations boost more than a meaningful strategic gain.
Professor Yagil Levy, the Head of The Open University Institute for the Study of Civil-Military Relations, said: “It is doubtful that capturing the Beaufort outpost is militarily necessary. Israel controls southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has retreated northward, and the main threat now comes from drones.
But in truth, debate already existed in 1982 over how necessary capturing Beaufort really was. The conclusion then, too, was that taking Beaufort was a kind of victory image.'’
“The capture of Beaufort seeks to recreate the achievement of 1982 and to project a victory image in the absence of other such images,” Levy added. “It attempts to present an accomplishment within a public discourse that increasingly assumes Israel is not winning: protests are growing in the northern communities, criticism is emerging from within the military over soldiers’ vulnerability to drone attacks, Hezbollah remains intact, and there is no realistic plan for its disarmament.”
Netanyahu is also presenting this symbol in an attempt to invest it with the meaning of a unifying national symbol. Yet in 1982 Beaufort became a symbol of controversy, as it helped galvanise the protest of bereaved families. It later became a symbol of the army’s helplessness during the years preceding the 2000 withdrawal.”
“In sum,” he added, “there is a strong likelihood that this is a mistake and that the capture of Beaufort will only deepen the controversy surrounding Israel’s operations in southern Lebanon.”
On Sunday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that Beaufort castle is “a symbol of a heroic battle for our fighters, but was also a symbol of deep division between us.”
The military’s return feels like Israel is going in circles, Orna Mizrahi, a former deputy director in Israel’s National Security Council, told AP. “There’s a feeling of, ‘For what?’” she said.
The word “Beaufort” summons a sense of victory for the Israeli military that captured it in 1982, but also symbolises the high price to defend the site before it was handed over in 2000, said Mizrahi, now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies.
Israel will likely relinquish control of the fortress eventually, she said, even as defence minister Israel Katz vowed to make it part of Israel’s permanent security zone in southern Lebanon.
The military’s presence there will not solve the issue with Hezbollah, Mizrahi said: “Yes, we are damaging them in the operations, but in parallel we need to pursue a political and diplomatic solution.”
Some more on France calling for a UN security council meeting on Lebanon following Israel’s deepening occupation of areas of the country, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the French news channel BFMTV that “Nothing can justify the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and an ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory.”
Lebanese foreign minister Youssef Raggai said he had spoken with Barrot, who “reaffirmed France’s solidarity with Lebanon, its commitment to the full respect of its sovereignty, and its support for direct negotiations as the only path toward a lasting solution.”
Barrot said he had requested the convening of the security council because Israel’s capture of Beaufort castle represented a further escalation. It constituted a “grave mistake” and a violation of international law, he said.
Israel’s expanded operation in Lebanon would give it an upper hand in the next week’s talks with Washington, Beirut geopolitical analyst Joe Macaron told AP.
“We are at a tipping point,” Macaron said, adding that it is still too early to say how Hezbollah will react to the loss of land. “The more land they (the Israeli military) can grab before the ceasefire, the more they can impose conditions on Hezbollah before their withdrawal.”
Following the capture of Beaufort, Israel has continued striking further south, near Tyre, including near the Hiram Hospital. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 13 health workers were wounded in the strike. Elsewhere, a strike in Deir al-Zahrani near Nabatiyeh killed eight people and wounded 16 others, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio is expected to announce a new ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel following political track negotiations in Washington Tuesday, the Lebanon Broadcasting Corporation International reported, citing sources.
Talks are due to take place on 2 and 3 June in Washington. A ceasefire has been in place since 17 April, however both sides have repeatedly broken it, accusing each other of aggression actions provoking response.
A former IDF commander of Beautfort Ridge, the 900-year-old castle and strategic ridge taken by Israeli forces in Lebanon, has warned Israelis against romanticising its capture.
In an interview in Hebrew with the Israeli news website Walla, Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Avman said: “The conquest of the ridge is tactical excellence that covers up strategic helplessness. From the point of view of the United States, Iran and Lebanon are tied to each other by an ancestral bond.”
Avman was a commander of Beaufort Bridge when Israeli forces used the fortress as a base during its previous occupation of Lebanon between 1982 and 2000.
He criticised the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Lebanon, suggesting there was no strategic purpose in capturing the fortress and putting an Israeli military flag on the castle.
“What happens tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? What happens when the soldiers remain there for another week or two? Where are the convoys bringing logistics? How do you provide them with water and ammunition? How do you protect them against IEDs and explosive drones? And that is why the romance of the images from Beaufort will turn, within days, into strategic stagnation,” he said.
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In his weekly address from the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, Pope Leo has urged world leaders to sincerely pursue a “fair and lasting peace”.
Leo wished for the “divine Wisdom to enlighten the conscience of those in authority and guide their decisions toward the sincere pursuit of a fair and lasting peace”, adding that in the past month the whole church prayed for peace.
“Dear brothers and sisters, throughout this month of May, a unanimous invocation for peace has risen from the entire Church, especially through the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Like an unbroken chain, it has entrusted the peoples tortured by war to the intercession of the Virgin Mary,” he said.
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Iran has restored gas production at three offshore platforms in the South Pars gas field that had been forced to halt output after Israeli attacks disrupted processing capacity at some onshore facilities, the chief executive of the Pars Oil and Gas Company told state media on Sunday.
Touraj Dehqani said the platforms had not been damaged. He said production from the three platforms was being routed to other processing plants in the region while repairs continue at damaged facilities, including the Phase 14 refinery.
Read my colleague Jillian Ambrose’s report on the Israeli strikes, which took place on 18 March.
Scenes from the conflict in Lebanon today:
An Israeli strike near a hospital in Tyre, south Lebanon wounded 13 staffers, the Lebanese health ministry said, AFP reports.
“The Israeli enemy launched an airstrike in the vicinity of Hiram Hospital in Tyre, injuring 13 hospital staff members and causing significant damage,” the ministry said in a statement, urging “the international community to put an end to the escalating and expanding Israeli attacks”.
Israel has stepped up its offensive in Lebanon this weekend, with evacuation orders in place for large parts of the south of the country.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said troops will remain in Beaufort as part of Israel’s security zone in Lebanon, Reuters reports, without providing further detail.
In an earlier post on X, Katz said: “At the direction of prime minister Netanyahu and at my direction, the IDF expanded the manoeuvre in Lebanon, crossed the Litani River, and captured the Beaufort ridge – one of the most important strategic points for defending the settlements of the Galilee and safeguarding the security of our forces.
“Today, the veil of secrecy imposed on the operation to prevent information from reaching the enemy has been lifted. This is a clear message to our enemies: whoever threatens Israeli citizens will lose their strategic assets one after another. I salute the Golani fighters and all IDF fighters who wrote another chapter of Israeli heroism in the place where our heroes fell for the homeland.”
Reached by the Guardian after Israeli troops captured the 900-year-old Beaufort castle and its strategic ridge in southern Lebanon – their deepest incursion into the country in more than 26 years- Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center said: “Israel is aiming at capturing strategic points by controlling the same positions which the IDF used to exert control over the occupied territories prior to its 2000 withdrawal.”
“Taking over Nabatiyeh will constitute a blow to the morale of Hezbollah and its support base.’’
About the fears among Lebanese of a virtual annexation, Ali said: “Given the level of destruction in the so called yellow zone, the range of possibilities is between denying the return of the population, and annexation/settlement in a similar fashion to the West Bank. Annexation is no longer a wild conspiracy theory, there are ministerial statements to this effect from Israel’s finance and national security ministers, among others.”
Netanyahu says capturing Beaufort a 'dramatic shift' in Lebanon offensive
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israeli forces’ capture of Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon marked a “dramatic shift” in Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Today, we have returned to Beaufort in a different way. We have returned united, determined, and stronger than ever,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, AFP reports.
“The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading. We have broken the barrier of fear. We are taking the initiative, we are operating on all fronts – in Syria, in Gaza, in Lebanon.”
France requests UN security council meeting on Lebanon
France has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations security council after Israeli forces seized the medieval Beaufort castle in Lebanon, the French foreign minister said Sunday, AFP reports.
“I have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council because, while we recognise Israel’s right, like that of all countries, to self-defence... nothing can justify the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and its ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory,” Jean-Noel Barrot said on the BFMTV channel.
Following the capture of Beaufort, 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, warning that it was targeting Hezbollah, AFP reports.
“For the sake of your safety, we direct this to all residents located south of the Zahleh River – as indicated on the map – that you must evacuate your homes immediately,” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.
“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, facilities, or combat means endangers their life. Any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes may become subject to targeting!”
Lebanon’s state news agency reported a series of strikes on the outskirts of the southern city of Tyre, including a strike near a hospital, as well as strikes on several southern villages.
It also said civil defence workers in the Tyre region received phone calls from the Israeli army telling them to evacuate.
Here are some of the pictures of Israel’s capture of Beaufort Castle in Lebanon, which marks a major push by Israeli forces into its neighbour’s territory. The images are handouts from the Israeli military.
By capturing Beaufort castle and pushing past the Litani river, Israeli forces appear to be positioning themselves for a potential encirclement of Nabatieh, a city that serves as an economic centre and a cultural heartland for southern Lebanon, Lorenzo Tondo writes.
Control of the surrounding hills would provide commanding views over large parts of southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa valley, offering a significant tactical advantage.
You can read Lorenzo’s full report at the link below:
Iran's top negotiator says no US deal until Iranian rights secured
Iran will not accept any agreement ending its conflict with the US unless there is certainty that the Iranian people’s rights are secured, top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said, Reuters reports, citing state media.
“There is no trust in the enemy’s words and promises. Our only criterion is to achieve tangible results before we fulfil our commitments in return,” he added after taking an oath as the re-elected speaker of parliament alongside its presidium.
While Donald Trump has claimed he could approve an Iran peace deal that contains major concessions from Tehran, including the opening of the strait of Hormuz and the elimination of the country’s nuclear programme, Iranian officials have signalled a final agreement had not been reached.
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The Israeli military told AFP that more than 25 projectiles were launched from Lebanon towards Israel on Saturday, while air alert sirens sounded in the northern cities of Karmiel and Safed for the first time since the ceasefire, according to the Israeli military.
Hezbollah said it confronted Israeli forces around the outskirts of the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Yohmor al-Shaqif and Dibbine, adding that the troops “had not yet succeeded in taking control of the towns”.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan posted footage on social media showing beachgoers fleeing as rockets hit near Israel’s Nahariya, close to the border with Lebanon.
You can watch the Guardian’s latest documentary, on how conflict is widening divisions in Lebanon, below.
Supporters of Hezbollah call the group “the resistance” and see the conflict as existential. Israel insists Hezbollah must disarm for there to be peace – a view shared by many Lebanese. With communities split over Hezbollah’s future, the Guardian travelled across Lebanon to find out how the conflict is affecting life across the country.
Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam had accused Israel on 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”, AFP reports.
Military delegations from both Israel and Lebanon held security talks in Washington on Friday, with more US-brokered negotiations planned next week. Hezbollah vehemently opposes the direct talks.
Salam said the outcome of the negotiations was “not guaranteed”, but called them “the least costly path for our country and our people”.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah started on 17 April but has not been observed. Both sides accuse each other daily of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by the other’s alleged breaches.
A US statement issued after Friday’s Israel-Lebanon talks made no mention of the truce, but said the “productive military-to-military discussions” would inform next week’s political meeting.
Following the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Unesco put 34 cultural sites in Lebanon under enhanced protection, including Beaufort castle.
The press release at the time said the sites would now “benefit from the highest level of immunity against attack and use for military purposes”. Non-compliance with these clauses would constitute “serious violations” of the 1954 Hague Convention and would constitute potential grounds for prosecution.
Footage and images have showed military activity in and around the 900-year-old castle.
Israel has previously faced criticism for striking near Baalbek’s Unesco-designated Roman ruins, in the east of Lebanon, as well as close to ruins in Tyre, in the south.
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops along Israel’s northern border, accompanied by Israeli defence minister Israel Katz. Israel is escalating its offensive in southern Lebanon.
During the visit on Friday, Netanyahu and Katz received briefings on military activities in Lebanon and met with field brigade commanders.
Israel’s capture of Beaufort Castle comes after one of the heaviest days of Hezbollah fire toward northern Israel since the April ceasefire, prompting school closures and restrictions on Saturday, Reuters reports.
The advance into Beaufort Castle has granted Israeli troops an overlook point over much of southern Lebanon and northern Israel, from which attacks have been launched towards Israeli residential areas.
Hezbollah “carried out numerous attacks,” from the ridge, the Israeli military said, adding that its troops were operating against launch infrastructure in the area, from which “hundreds of projectiles were launched toward Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers”.
Israeli troops were also operating near Nabatieh, a major Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon, the military said.
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Footage this morning showed the Israeli army flag raised above the Beaufort Castle citadel, with shelling audible and smoke rising from the surrounding area.
The fortress commands sweeping views of south Lebanon, making it a position of considerable strategic value. The crusader fortress dates back to the 1100s, it changed hands between the crusaders and Islamic forces, before Sultan Baibars captured it in 1268. It has played a role in past conflict between Israel and Lebanon, making it one of few medieval fortresses to have prove valuable in modern warfare.
Israeli forces captured the castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shakif, in 1982 and used it as a base during their previous occupation of southern Lebanon, which lasted nearly two decades before ending in 2000.
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Opening summary: Israeli troops capture strategic castle in Lebanon in deepest incursion into country in 26 years
Israeli troops have captured a mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter of a century.
The capture of Beaufort castle near the city of Nabatiyeh came after days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages where Israeli troops fought Hezbollah members in the rugged area.
The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted a photograph on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle, and defense minister Israel Katz wrote that they had raised an Israeli flag over the castle. Israeli troops previously captured the castle in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.
“Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War (1982), our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there,” Katz said on his Telegram channel.
The Israeli push came despite a nominal ceasefire that has been in place since April and just days before the next round of talks are set to be held at the US State Department on 2 and 3 June.
Here are the other recent developments from the crisis in the Middle East:
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Israel has expanded the scope of its operations in Lebanon sending troops across the Litani River, which previously served as a de facto boundary. Israel has designated the area from the Litani up to the Zahrani River a combat zone. Some residents have already left the area due to the intense strikes in recent days, but people remain in many of the area’s towns.
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Hezbollah overnight claimed two attacks targeting Israeli troops and a Merkava tank in the southwestern town of Bayada near the border. In recent days, the group has said it has clashed with Israeli troops in several towns just north of the river near Nabatiyeh and the castle.
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The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll in the country since March was 3,371, including civilians and combatants. The Israeli army announced Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed the previous day by a Hezbollah explosive drone in southern Lebanon, bringing to 25 the number of Israeli military deaths since early March.
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US president Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran. Trump has said his priorities for any deal include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development and re-opening the blockaded strait of Hormuz.
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Benjamin Netanyahu said he has given orders to the Israeli army to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip in a move that threatens to torpedo an already fragile ceasefire and create catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the already devastated territory.
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