{"id":92734,"date":"2026-05-31T12:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T17:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=92734"},"modified":"2026-05-31T18:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T23:38:34","slug":"idf-captures-strategic-ridge-in-deepest-incursion-into-lebanon-since-2000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/idf-captures-strategic-ridge-in-deepest-incursion-into-lebanon-since-2000\/","title":{"rendered":"IDF captures strategic ridge in deepest incursion into Lebanon since 2000"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JNS STAFF<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"Page-twoColumn\">\n<div class=\"Page-main\">\n<div class=\"Page-articleBody\">\n<div class=\"RichTextArticleBody RichTextBody\">\n<div class=\"ArticlePage-dateAndSource\">(<em>JNS.org<\/em>)&nbsp; \u2013 Israel Defense Forces ground troops have captured a strategic mountain ridge in southeastern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in 26 years, the military said on Sunday.<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_92735\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle.webp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-92735\" class=\"wp-image-92735 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle-300x169.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle.webp 1000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/169;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-92735\" class=\"wp-image-92735 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle-300x169.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Beaufort_Castle.webp 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-92735\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Israel Defense Forces soldiers capture Beaufort Castle in Southern Lebanon, May 2026. Credit: IDF Spokesperson\u2019s Unit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Israeli forces seized Beaufort Castle near the city of Nabatieh as part of the army\u2019s efforts to \u201celiminate the direct threat to communities in the Galilee Panhandle, including Metula,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n<p>Troops have been advancing deeper into Lebanon for several days after crossing the Litani River, marking an expansion of operations.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli forces are now some 5 kilometers, or 3 miles, from Nabatieh, a major urban center and Hezbollah stronghold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe operation is focused on gaining control of the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area, while also intensifying the campaign against Hezbollah and destroying significant terrorist infrastructure established on the ridge with Iranian guidance,\u201d the IDF said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn addition, the forces are operating against launch infrastructure in the area that was used to carry out hundreds of rocket launches against Israeli civilians and IDF troops operating in Southern Lebanon,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p>The military said the operation was one of dozens carried out in recent weeks as part of its ongoing campaign against the Iranian terrorist proxy.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF returned to the Beaufort Ridge \u201cunited, determined and stronger than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remind you that 44 years ago, this place was a symbol of a heroic battle by our fighters, but it was also a symbol of deep division among us,\u201d he said, referencing the June 1982 battle for the mountain ridge during the First Lebanon War. Netanyahu added, \u201cToday, we returned to Beaufort differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have instructed the IDF to expand the incursion in Lebanon. Our forces have crossed the Litani River. They took dominant terrain. They captured the Beaufort ridge. And now my instruction is to deepen and expand our hold on places that were under Hezbollah\u2019s control,\u201d the premier declared.<\/p>\n<p>Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X, \u201cForty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort\u2014and on the memorial day for the fallen of the First Lebanon War, including the Golani soldiers who fell in the battle for Beaufort\u2014IDF soldiers, led by the Golani Brigade, returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag and the Golani Brigade flag atop it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe IDF expanded its maneuver in Lebanon, crossed the Litani River and captured the Beaufort Ridge\u2014one of the most strategically important positions for defending the communities of the Galilee and safeguarding the security of our forces,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a clear message to our enemies: Whoever threatens the citizens of Israel will lose their strategic assets one after another,\u201d the defense minister added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<div class=\"TweetUrl\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" title=\"X Post\" data-src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=JNS_org&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2060969614184452214&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jns.org%2Fnews%2Fisrael-news%2Fidf-captures-strategic-ridge-in-deepest-incursion-into-lebanon-since-2000&amp;sessionId=bc73b623d6b390aa5ea2f79ba92195de77870c03&amp;siteScreenName=JNS_org&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"2060969614184452214\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>France has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to the IDF\u2019s capture of the Beaufort Ridge, Paris\u2019s foreign minister announced on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council because, while we recognize Israel\u2019s right, like that of all countries, to self-defense &#8230;, nothing can justify the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and its ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory,\u201d Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Hezbollah renewed its rocket and drone attacks on Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the opening stages of \u201cOperation Roaring Lion\u201d on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Israel launched a broad aerial campaign against Hezbollah targets and expanded military operations in Southern Lebanon aimed at preventing cross-border attacks on Israeli communities.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 26 accused Hezbollah of \u201cessentially disintegrating\u201d the fragile truce, which was extended for another 45 days earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTherefore, as far as we are concerned, what obligates us is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, and the security of our communities,\u201d the prime minister said. \u201cWe are acting vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and incidentally, with Lebanon as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"IDF%20captures%20strategic%20ridge%20in%20deepest%20incursion%20into%20Lebanon%20since%202000\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":92735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[453,491,8781,8790,8795,1041,8788],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92734"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92755,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92734\/revisions\/92755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}