Hussain Alawieh once guided tourists through Beaufort Castle, where visitors marveled at the expansive views of south Lebanon and the Litani River. The ancient hilltop fortress, seized by Crusaders nearly a millennium ago, has long been a strategic prize contested by successive empires.
On Sunday, however, those views were obscured by white phosphorus smoke, used as a tactical screen for advancing Israeli forces. As the fog cleared, the Israeli flag was raised, marking the first time in 26 years that the castle has fallen under Israeli control.
In an era defined by drone warfare and advanced surveillance, the strategic military value of a hilltop fort may have diminished, but for both Israelis and Lebanese, the capture carries profound psychological significance in a conflict that had remained largely deadlocked for six weeks.
“The raising of the Israeli flag and the banner of the Golani Brigade above the castle was a shock to me and to all southerners and the Lebanese people,” said Alawieh, a south Lebanon-based tour guide.
Alawieh noted that the castle serves as a symbol of resilience and resistance. Its formidable walls had withstood Israeli aerial bombardments in the 1980s while serving as a PLO base, and it survived a demolition attempt by Israel during its withdrawal in 2000.
“Raising the Israeli flag is intended to signal psychological dominance and defeat,” Alawieh explained, “sending the message that sites once considered impregnable have fallen.”
The seizure of the castle coincided with a renewed surge in Israel’s southern Lebanon invasion. Military momentum had slowed following a purported ceasefire on April 17, and with much of the region designated as a “no man’s land” by Israel, battlefield developments had become difficult to track.
Last week, the low-intensity conflict accelerated sharply. Israeli airstrikes began killing at least a dozen people daily as ground troops resumed their advance.
The fall of Beaufort Castle provided the most visible evidence of this progress. Prime Minister Netanyahu, facing domestic political pressure, announced that Israel is deepening its operations in Lebanon.
For Lebanese citizens, the image of the Israeli flag flying over the fort evoked memories of the 18-year occupation that began in 1982. “It brought me back to the occupation—back to 1986, 1987, and 2000. It brought back the memories of those painful days,” said Fouad Fatimi, the mayor of Arnoun, the town where the castle is located.
Arnoun had been evacuated in the weeks preceding the capture following heavy Israeli airstrikes. Fatimi reported receiving a phone call from an Israeli officer last month ordering the evacuation of all residents.
Israeli forces arrived to find an empty village and an undefended fortress. To emphasize the victory, the Israeli military released footage of soldiers ascending the castle steps set to the song “Waynun” by the legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz, with a chorus asking, “Where are they? Where are they?”
While soldiers patrolled the castle, airstrikes continued across south Lebanon, leaving little time for the population to process the loss of territory. In the city of Tyre, residential buildings were reduced to smoking craters, with entire neighborhoods buried under rubble and thick plumes of smoke.
Tyre’s civil defense units withdrew on Sunday after receiving evacuation orders from the Israeli military. According to Ali Safieddine, head of the city’s civil defense, teams returned on Monday to establish a new headquarters in the Christian quarter, an area that had remained untouched by the bombing.
The campaign expanded further on Monday as Beirut once again came under threat, jeopardizing the relative safety the capital had enjoyed during the ceasefire. Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the military would resume strikes on Beirut.
Roads leading out of the southern suburbs were quickly choked with cars as residents fled their homes, many of whom had only returned six weeks prior. The streets of Beirut echoed with car horns as people scrambled to escape.
On WhatsApp, residents expressed resignation. “Here we go again,” wrote one resident of the southern suburbs. Others sought help finding vacant apartments for families displaced for a second time.
Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government condemned the escalation, though neither appeared capable of halting the advance.
“[The resistance] has never claimed to prevent the invasion or occupation of territory, nor has it claimed to possess a balancing armament,” said Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah on Sunday, adding that the group would focus on preventing Israel from “consolidating control” over occupied areas.
Unable to stop the advance, many Lebanese looked to the castle’s long history for a sense of hope.
“Seeing the castle once again covered by the flag of occupation was a deep wound to our national identity,” said Alawieh. “But I see this presence as temporary. Looking at the history of the castle, it has cast out all invaders and occupiers before.”
