Beaufort Castle | Pakistan

Israel captured the medieval fortress on Beaufort in Lebanon on Sunday as it warned Lebanese civilians to flee a large area of the south of the country ahead of a stepped-up ground offensive. The Associated Press noted that Israel’s capture of the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and its strategic ridge in southern Lebanon was Israel’s deepest incursion into the country in 26 years. Shelling was audible and smoke rose from the surrounding area as the invading army’s banner was seen by AFP above the castle, which Israeli forces famously used as a base during their previous two-decade-long occupation. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops had captured the historic strongpoint, which commands sweeping views of south Lebanon, as they expanded their ground operations, which Lebanon’s prime minister has condemned as a “scorched earth” policy. “Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War, our troops have returned to the sum...