IDF ‘stronger than ever,’ Netanyahu says after troops capture Lebanon’s Beaufort Ridge

The Israel Defense Forces returned to conquer Lebanon’s Beaufort Ridge “united, determined and stronger than ever,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

Netanyahu spoke hours after the IDF announced that ground troops had taken control of the strategic mountain ridge in southeastern Lebanon, in the military’s deepest incursion into the country in 26 years.

“I 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,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew remarks, referring to the June 1982 battle for the Beaufort Ridge during the First Lebanon War.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Last night, our heroic fighters captured the Beaufort castle. They proudly raised the flag of the State of Israel and the flag of the Golani Brigade there.

I remind you that 44 years ago, this place was a symbol of a heroic battle by our… pic.twitter.com/tyTr2QImaW

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 31, 2026

“I spoke with the fighters on the northern border on Friday. They told me: ‘Tell the people of Israel what we are doing here. Prime Minister, the public doesn’t know what achievements we have made,'” Netanyahu continued.

Since Iranian-backed Hezbollah joined the war sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Israeli forces have killed about 8,000 of its operatives, including 700 in the past month alone, the premier said, adding that the figure exceeds the number of terrorists killed during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

“I 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’s control,” he continued.

While the operation to capture the Beaufort Ridge marks a “dramatic stage and a dramatic change in the policy we are leading,” Netanyahu said, efforts to restore quiet to the north “will take more time.

“We will restore security to the residents of the north, just as we did for the residents of the south,” the prime minister vowed. “It will take time, but we will complete the mission.”

Israeli forces seized Beaufort Castle near the city of Nabatieh as part of the army’s efforts to “eliminate the direct threat to communities in the Galilee Panhandle, including Metula,” the IDF said earlier on Sunday.

Beaufort Ridge is a strategic elevation overlooking the Litani River. It features the 12th-century Crusader fortress that sits 2,330 feet above sea level, commanding sweeping views of the region.

Troops have been advancing deeper into Lebanon for several days after crossing the Litani River, marking an expansion of operations.

Israeli forces are now some 5 kilometers, or 3 miles, from Nabatieh, a major urban center and Hezbollah stronghold.

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 “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.

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.

Netanyahu on April 26 accused Hezbollah of “essentially disintegrating” the fragile truce, which was extended for another 45 days earlier this month.

“Therefore, 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,” the prime minister said. “We are acting vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and incidentally, with Lebanon as well.”