European leaders have unequivocally condemned Israel’s expanding military incursion into Lebanon, particularly following its forces capturing the medieval Beaufort castle. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has further vowed to push deeper into the country, intensifying international concern. France’s President Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, stating that “nothing justifies the major escalation under way in south Lebanon.” In response, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, has formally requested a meeting of the UN Security Council for Monday to address the situation.

The condemnation from France was echoed by the foreign ministers of the UK and Germany, who joined the call for de-escalation. Britain’s Yvette Cooper specifically urged for the respect of the ceasefire that has nominally been in place between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah since April. This US-brokered truce, intended to halt fighting between the two sides, has, however, been rarely observed.

Israel maintains that its campaign is targeting Hezbollah, a group with a significant political and military presence in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has reportedly launched thousands of missiles and drones into northern Israel, leading to the current conflict, which began in March after Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader. The Israeli campaign has had severe humanitarian consequences, forcing over a million people from their homes and resulting in the deaths of 3,300 individuals, including dozens of children. Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, accused Israel on Saturday of “implementing a policy of total destruction of cities and towns.”

The capture of Beaufort castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, was hailed by Netanyahu as a “dramatic shift” in the ongoing campaign against Hezbollah. In a video statement released after the military took the castle, Netanyahu declared, “We have returned united, determined and stronger than ever. Now my directive is to deepen and expand our hold in places that were under Hezbollah’s control.” He emphasized the historical significance of the castle, which Israeli forces first seized in 1982, describing it as a “symbol of a heroic battle for our fighters.”

Historically, Beaufort castle, built as a crusader castle around the 12th century, offers commanding views across Lebanon and into northern Israel. It has been successively occupied by Saladin’s Jerusalem army, the Ottomans, the French, and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, and was also used by Israeli forces as a base during their previous two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon, which concluded in 2000.

Despite Netanyahu’s rhetoric, some experts have questioned the actual strategic significance of the castle’s capture, suggesting it amounts to little more than a public relations coup. Orna Mizrahi, a former deputy director in Israel’s national security council, commented to the Associated Press that the military’s presence there would not solve the core issue with Hezbollah. She stressed the need for a political and diplomatic solution in parallel with military operations.

Diplomatic efforts are underway, with talks between senior officials from Israel and Lebanon commencing in April in Washington – marking the first such discussions in over three decades between the two countries, which lack formal diplomatic relations. These discussions are slated to continue this week, although Hezbollah is not participating and has stated its refusal to accept any results. Israel’s latest advance and the ongoing violence in Lebanon also complicate efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement between the US and Iran. Tehran has consistently insisted that any agreement to extend the current ceasefire with Washington and normalize shipping in the Strait of Hormuz must include an end to the fighting in Lebanon. Observers suggest that Israeli officials and military commanders may be aiming to inflict maximum damage on Hezbollah before any potential deal imposes new limits or halts the current offensive.