France Calls For Emergency UN Meeting Amid Israelis Advances In Lebanon.

Paris; May 2026: French President Emanuel Macron has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after Israeli forces seized the medieval Beaufort castle in Lebanon, the French Foreign Minister said today (Sunday – 31st May 2026).

“I have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council because, while we recognise Israel’s right, like that of all countries, to self-defence; nothing can justify the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon and its ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told media reporters today (Sunday – 31st May 2026).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to push deeper into Lebanon after his military took over the medieval castle of Beaufort on Sunday, calling it a “dramatic shift” in the campaign against Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said today, that it targeted Israeli army positions and infrastructure in Shlomi and Nahariya in northern Israel, while air raid sirens blared in the Acre area. Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on 02nd March when Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader.

A truce to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on 17th April, but has never been observed. Both sides accuse each other daily of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by the other’s alleged breaches. Now, as the fighting has escalated in Lebanon, France said today, that it requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, alarmed by Israel’s “ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory”.

Israeli forces used the Beaufort castle, also known as Qalaat al-Chakif, as a base during their previous two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000. In a video statement released hours after the military took Beaufort, Netanyahu said “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. The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading”.

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.

“Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War (1982), our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there”, Katz said in a social media post.

In a shelter for the displaced in Sidon, southern Lebanon’s largest city, a resident from Nabatieh, told media reporters that they are very afraid. “It is impossible for us to return to our home, because the city is in great destruction”, she said, adding that the arrival of Israeli forces at the castle was “tragic”.

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 from the border. It said it was targeting “Hezbollah infrastructure in Tyre and several additional areas in southern Lebanon” – as Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a series of strikes on the area.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had accused Israel yesterday (Saturday – 30th May 2026) of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment” in the south, urging a halt to the fighting.

Military delegations from Lebanon and Israel held security talks in Washington on Friday (29th May) with more US-brokered negotiations planned next week.

The Israeli army has said today (Sunday, 31st May) that one of its soldiers had been killed a day earlier by a Hezbollah explosive drone, bringing to 25 the number of Israeli military deaths in Lebanon since early March. The Lebanese health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,371 people in the same period.

Earlier, on the 22nd of last month (April 2026), the French President while meeting the Lebanese Prime Minister at Paris had urged Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. The meeting at the Élysée Palace focused on maintaining the ceasefire and reaffirming France’s backing for Lebanon’s territorial integrity, while also looking ahead to renewed negotiations between Beirut and Tel Aviv.

Speaking after their meeting, Lebanese Prime Minister Salam said Lebanon would need €500 million over the next 06 months to address the humanitarian fallout from the conflict, as a fragile 10 days ceasefire with Israel continues to hold.

Qalaat al-Chakif (Beaufort Castle) was originally built by the King of Jerusalem around 1137 A.D., with subsequent expansions and modifications by the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, and the local feudal governors of the Al Saabi family. Today, it stands as one of the best-preserved examples of medieval castles in the Near East.

Qalaat Al Chakif (Beaufort Castle) commands a strategic position, dominating a landscape that extends across the territories of Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. The castle sustained significant damage, particularly during the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon. Since its liberation in 2000, a major conservation and presentation project has been undertaken. This initiative was carefully designed to preserve the castle’s authenticity and integrity, in accordance with international standards for the conservation of cultural heritage.

Qalaat Chama’ was the focus of a scientific archaeological excavation, which confirmed that the site dates back to the third century AD. Following partial destruction during the 2006 war, the castle underwent a meticulously planned restoration, approved by the Directorate General of Antiquities and conducted in accordance with international standards and best practices for the conservation of cultural heritage. The restoration prioritized authenticity, sustainability, and the use of traditional materials and techniques. Regrettably, the site sustained additional partial damage during the 2024 conflict.

Team Maverick.