Beaufort Castle

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

                         Beaufort Castle as it looked in 2022

Israel captured Beaufort Castle (known locally as Qalaat al-Shaqif or Shaqif Arnoun), a 900-year-old medieval hilltop fortress located in southern Lebanon. 

The seizure of the Crusader-era castle was a major strategic and symbolic move during Israel's expanded ground offensive. The hilltop fortress has a long, contested history: 

• Strategic Location: The castle sits just a few miles from the Israeli border and offers commanding views of southern Lebanon and northern Israel. 
  
  IDF soldiers operating in Lebanon's Beaufort Ridge, shared by the military on May 31, 2026.
  (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)
• Prior Occupation: Israeli forces previously captured the castle in 1982 and used it as a military base for nearly two decades before their withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. 

• The castle's strategic location, which affords a view of much of southern Lebanon and northern Israel, has caused it to be a focus for recent conflicts. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) held the castle from 1976 onwards, during the Lebanese Civil War and consequentially it was attacked by Israeli forces dozens of times within a timespan of five years.

  On 6 June 1982, at the start of Operation Peace for Galilee (the 1982 Lebanon War), the PLO position on Beaufort Castle was heavily shelled by the Israelis before it was captured by the Israeli forces two days later in the Battle of the Beaufort. The fighting caused damage to the castle, and in the aftermath the Israeli army adapted the site for their own use by building a large forward operations base adjacent to the fort's western wall. As a result of the prior presence of the PLO and the fear of IEDs, Israeli soldiers manning the base were allowed to tour the upper floors of the fortress but prevented from accessing the lower parts. During the 18 years of occupation, the Beaufort castle, along with the Israeli forces, was heavily shelled by the PLO and Hezbollah. Numerous attempts were made to recapture it, primarily through the use of suicide bombings and mortars.