New Delhi: Israeli troops have captured a strategic mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in the deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter-century.The capture of Beaufort castle, near the city of Nabatiyeh marked a major Israeli advance in its latest offensive against what it claims is the armed group Hezbollah but which has killed upwards of 3,350 people in Lebanon and and displaced more than 1 million people.Israel’s Lebanon offensive began almost concurrently as it attacked Iran, along with the US, on February 28.On March 2, Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel. Since then, Israel has launched a ground invasion, forcibly capturing dozens of Lebanese villages and towns close to the border, leading to numerous deaths. Hezbollah has reportedly aimed missiles and drones at Israel in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.The Israeli attacks came despite a nominal ceasefire that has been in place since April 17 and just days before Lebanon and Israeli hold their next round of direct talks in Washington starting June 2.United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to propose a fresh path to continue ongoing negotiations, according to a US official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations. Under the proposal, Hezbollah would halt all attacks on Israel and Israel would refrain from escalating military operations in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, according to the official.In a televised statement, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he can guarantee Hezbollah’s “full, comprehensive and immediate commitment to a ceasefire.”“But who will force Israel to stop its aggression?” he said in a statement on his television station, NBN.‘Unacceptable’French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which he described as “unacceptable.”“Nothing can justify the prolongation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and its increasingly deep occupation of Lebanese territory,” Barrot said Sunday on French television BFM TV.Diplomats said the council meeting might take place Monday afternoon, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.India has largely been silent on Israel’s movement into Lebanon, noting only in early April that it is “deeply concerned” by reports of civilian casualties there.A historic and strategic fortressThe Beaufort fortress, perched high atop Lebanon’s rolling green hills and overlooking the Litani River, has been a strategic military asset for centuries.Built as a Crusader castle around the 12th century on top of previous fortifications, it has also been used by Saladin’s Jerusalem army, Mamluks, Ottomans, the French mandate and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The Crusaders named it Beaufort, which is Old French for “beautiful fortress.”The 1982 capture of the castle from the PLO was a major victory for the Israeli military, which was then led by Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, who later became prime minister. At the time, the Israeli army pushed all the way north and occupied Beirut.In 2000, the castle was partially restored and opened to visitors.During the previous Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, UNESCO gave enhanced protection to 34 cultural sites in Lebanon, including Beaufort Castle, to safeguard them from damage.The castle is a few kilometres north of the Israel border and overlooks wide parts of southern Lebanon and northern Israel. In Arabic, it is called Al-Shaqif castle, an old Syriac word referring to the formidable rocky area.Israel continues to expand into LebanonIn recent days, Israel has expanded the scope of its operations in Lebanon, sending troops across the Litani River, which previously served as a de-facto boundary, and demanding that residents leave much of southern Lebanon.Israel’s military has now issued warnings of imminent attacks for the Lebanese towns of Mlikh and Kfarhounah, telling their residents to immediately flee their homes, Al Jazeera reports.In an Arabic-language post on social media, the Israeli military warned it would soon “act forcefully” in the areas against Hezbollah.According to Netanyahu’s office, at least 25 Israeli soldiers and a defence contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have purportedly also been killed in northern Israel.Israel has continued striking near Tyre, including near the Hiram Hospital. The Lebanese Health Ministry said 13 health workers were wounded in the strike. Elsewhere, a strike in Deir al-Zahrani, near Nabatiyeh, killed eight people and wounded 16 others, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.Hezbollah overnight claimed two attacks targeting Israeli troops and a Merkava tank in the southwestern town of Bayada near the border. In recent days, the group has said it has clashed with Israeli troops in several towns just north of the river near Nabatiyeh and the strategic castle. It also claimed attacks deeper into Israel near the northern city of Haifa, Nahariya, as well as border areas.Hezbollah on Saturday fired salvos of rockets into northern Israel, including Kiryat Shmona, the largest city in the area.