France Condemns Israeli military Operations In Southern Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned Israel’s expanding military operations in southern Lebanon, saying nothing justifies the escalation under way as Israeli forces captured the medieval Beaufort Castle and pushed troops beyond the Litani River for the first time since 2006.

“Nothing justifies the major escalation under way in south Lebanon,” Macron said in a post on X, calling for an end to the fighting “for good” and adding that after speaking with regional leaders he considered it “essential” for an agreement to be reached quickly between the United States and Iran.

Israeli forces have designated the entire area between the Litani and Zahrani rivers as a combat zone, sending troops beyond the Litani, which previously served as a de facto boundary, and ordering residents to evacuate much of southern Lebanon as fighting raged through villages near Beaufort Castle, which sits about five kilometres from the major city of Nabatiyeh.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that troops had raised the Israeli flag over Beaufort Castle, describing the capture as historically significant, saying “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 summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there.”

Built as a Crusader castle around the 12th century, Beaufort has served as a strategic military position for centuries and was held by Israeli forces for 18 years until their withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. Israeli troops had held the castle during the 1982 invasion when they pushed as far north as Beirut.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced the escalation as a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment,” urging an immediate ceasefire, while France went further, demanding an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to address the rapidly deteriorating situation in southern Lebanon.