Israeli Flag Flies Over 900-Year-Old Beaufort Castle, Reviving Memories of 1982 Seizure
Updated
Updated · Vatican News - English · Jun 5
Israeli Flag Flies Over 900-Year-Old Beaufort Castle, Reviving Memories of 1982 Seizure
2 articles · Updated · Vatican News - English · Jun 5
Summary
A viral image showed an Israeli flag flying over Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, turning the medieval fortress into a fresh symbol of regional confrontation.
The 12th-century stronghold dominates valleys near the Israeli border, and its hilltop position made it a prized military site for successive powers despite limited modern battlefield value.
Beaufort also carries heavy modern war symbolism: the PLO used it during Lebanon’s civil war, and Israeli forces captured it after fierce fighting in 1982 and raised their flag there.
Israel kept the castle as a military outpost until its 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon, so the flag’s return is being cast as a symbolic turning point more than a tactical gain.