Israeli forces struck an ancient site in southern Lebanon this week, the country's state media reported, as the IDF continued to intensify attacks despite the extension of a ceasefire. The 900-year-old Beaufort Castle was hit by Israeli strikes on Tuesday, as its bombardment of southern Lebanon killed 31 people and wounded another 40 in the deadliest day since a ceasefire was supposed to take hold, state news agency NNA reported.
Historic Castle Damaged
The fortress in southern Lebanon has been described by UNESCO as one of the best-preserved examples of medieval castles in the region. The strike came as Israel began deepening its operations in Lebanon and issued evacuation orders on large swathes of its south. On Thursday, the Israeli military said that it carried out a strike in Lebanon's capital Beirut, the first strike to hit near Beirut in weeks.
Strike Near Beirut
A Lebanese security source told Reuters that the strike hit near Beirut's southern suburbs, with images from the area showing thick smoke billowing across buildings. Israeli security sources say the target was Ali al-Husseini, who they say was the head of the missile division in the Imam Hussein Division, a militia that officials say is aligned with Hezbollah and Iran. Lebanese sources say the strike was carried out with two precision missiles targeting a building in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Ceasefire Under Strain
It was a further blow to a flagging ceasefire announced by Washington in mid-April, which was meant to halt the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has been raging since 2 March. Israeli strikes continued to pound towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight into Thursday, after Israel declared a large new area to be a "combat zone". The military ordered residents to leave any towns south of the Zahrani River, running about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Israel's border with Lebanon. Including a border zone occupied by its troops, Israel's evacuation orders in Lebanon over the last three months span about 2,000 sq km - about a fifth of the entire country.
Civilian Casualties
An Israeli strike on Thursday morning killed six people including two children and their parents near the southern town of Adloun, Lebanon's health ministry said. Another strike, on the port city of Sidon, killed five people including two women. Sidon lies outside of the area designated as a combat zone by the Israeli military, and the strike was carried out without warning.
Deepening Operations
The apparent strike on the ancient castle on Tuesday came on the day Israel pounded Lebanon with more than 120 air strikes, in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made clear on that day that his military was deepening its operations in the country. The military "is operating with large forces in the field and capturing and controlling areas", he said. He added that it is "fortifying the security strip to protect the northern communities" in a reference to a self-declared security zone occupied by Israeli troops several kilometres inside southern Lebanon.
