Overview
- Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured Beaufort Ridge on Sunday, July 5, descended into tunnel passages and said Israeli forces now control both the key high ground and the underground network below the castle.
- Zamir told troops the IDF is prepared to transition quickly to offensive operations should the recent US‑brokered ceasefire be breached.
- The military asserts the tunnels were built over decades by Hezbollah to serve as command centers and cross‑border firing positions and says operations at the site are being carried out under the framework of the US mediation.
- Zamir urged the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their commitments under the agreement and remove Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure from the area.
- Lebanese health authorities report heavy human costs since March 2 with thousands killed, many more injured, and over a million people displaced, a backdrop that raises the risk that control of Beaufort could test the ceasefire and regional tensions if claims cannot be independently verified.