#Title LEBANON GROUND OPERATION Israel seizes strategic Beaufort castle Issues more displacement orders in south; Netanyahu orders deeper incursion to hit Hezbollah

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Israel’s flag flew over the medieval fortress on Beaufort in Lebanon yesterday as it warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate a large area of the south of the country ahead of stepped up ground operations.

Shelling was audible and smoke rose from the surrounding area as the invading army’s banner was seen by AFP above the castle, which Israeli forces famously used as a base during their previous two-decade long occupation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the battle against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said troops had captured the historic strongpoint, which commands sweeping views of south Lebanon, as they expanded their ground operations, which Lebanon’s prime minister has condemned as a “scorched earth” policy.

France has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after the Israeli forces seized the castle, the French foreign minister said.

Meanwhile, videos on social media yesterday showed people on a beach in northern Israel running for shelter as Hezbollah rockets were launched towards the region, reports Al Jazeera online. It was the first barrage fired from Lebanon towards the Israeli city of Nahariya in three weeks.

The push to Beaufort came as the Israeli military issued a sweeping evacuation order to areas south of the Zahrani River, north of the Litani and around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border, warning that it was targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group.

“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, facilities, or combat means endangers their life. Any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes may become subject to targeting!” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said, in a social media post.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had accused Israel on Saturday of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment” in the south, urging a halt to the fighting and warning it was “destroying towns and villages, and forcing their inhabitants into exile”.