Israel has captured the 12th-century Beaufort castle that overlooks southern Lebanon and northern Israel. The move suggests Israel is planning an extended military presence in Lebanon.

Israeli air force and artillery strikes were reported on Saturday near the strategic mountain site of a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon as fighting raged in villages close to the city of Nabatiyeh.

The Israeli military has captured a strategic, Crusader-era castle in southern Lebanon, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders troops to deepen Israel’s incursion into its neighbor’s territory.

Israeli troops seized the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and its strategic ridge in southern Lebanon, the military said on Sunday (May 31), a major advance against Iran-backed Hezbollah despite a ceasefire announced more than six weeks ago.

Israel's air force and artillery have struck areas near a strategic mountain in southern Lebanon, the site of an ancient castle.

The Israeli military has captured the historic Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, a site it hasn’t held for 26 years, as it expands its incursion deeper into its neighbor’s territory.

Israeli forces are now deeper inside Lebanon than they have been in over 25 years, despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The incursion challenges efforts to extend the Iran war’s ceasefire as

Caught between China's rapid military rise and growing ​doubts about the U.S. focus on a region it has long dominated, Indo-Pacific nations are racing to arm themselves, and each other.