Southern Lebanese towns near Beaufort Castle hit by Israeli strikes

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces carried out strikes on southern Lebanese towns near Beaufort Castle, a landmark in south Lebanon. According to the report, the Israeli military said it deployed 700 tonnes of explosives to destroy sections of what it described as a Hezbollah tunnel network in the area.

The reported strikes come after Israel agreed in June to a phased withdrawal from Lebanon, with the Lebanese military expected to take responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, according to the same Al Jazeera account. The article did not provide casualty figures, the names of specific towns hit, or an independent assessment of the damage to the alleged tunnel network.

The development matters because it points to continuing Israeli military activity in southern Lebanon even as a withdrawal arrangement is described as being in place. It also underscores the sensitivity of the issue of Hezbollah’s armed infrastructure, which remains central to security and political tensions involving Israel, Lebanon’s state institutions and the Iran-backed group.

For context beyond the brief report, Beaufort Castle is a well-known hilltop site in southern Lebanon, an area that has repeatedly been significant in conflict between Israel and armed groups operating in Lebanon. The available Al Jazeera text is limited, so details such as the duration of the strikes, local civilian impact, and the status of the June withdrawal plan were not established in the supplied source.