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Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War
Mon 1 Jun 2026 at 6:27am
Israeli troops seized the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, according to this photo posted by the Israeli army's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee. (Supplied: X/Avichay Adraee)
Hello, ABC Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran in Jerusalem here.
It's now 93 days since the war between the US, Israel and Iran began, and while a deal to end the conflict seems to be closer than it has been for weeks, there's still great uncertainty about how this will play out.
I fear I'm starting to sound like a bit of a broken record, so I apologise in advance. But it's clear there's not going to be a quick solution to this crisis.
Last week, Mr Trump said a deal had been largely negotiated and would be announced soon. Then he said he would not rush into a deal. Then he rubbished reports in Iranian state media about what a deal could look like.
And then, when presented with a proposal seemingly agreed to by US and Iranian negotiators, he did not back it in and now he has reportedly demanded more changes.
The public rhetoric from Tehran is similarly stubborn, refusing to yield ground. Part of that may be because of the delays in getting a clear answer from the supreme leader on where Iran is prepared to negotiate.
It is why further declarations of an imminent deal need to be taken with more than a pinch of salt.
As with last week, the situation in Lebanon, which is moving at a considerable pace, needs to be at the top of the watch list.
It began last Wednesday with Israel once again demanding all residents of southern Lebanon flee the area. It has now escalated to the point where Israeli forces have invaded and seized more territory in the south.
Hezbollah, in turn, is attacking Israel in ways that are fuelling deep frustration in the Israeli military, particularly the use of fibre-optic controlled drones, which cannot be jammed by Israel's sophisticated air defences in the same way as other threats.
Mr Netanyahu was quick to celebrate the capture of Beaufort Castle, an area that has been seen as strategically significant for more than a millennium.
"I have instructed the IDF to expand the incursion in Lebanon," he said.
"Our forces have crossed the Litani River. They took dominant terrain. They captured the Beaufort ridge. And now my instruction is to deepen and expand our hold on places that were under Hezbollah's control."
He did note that the capture of Beaufort may stir memories of "deep division" in Israel, perhaps a reference to the last time the castle was under Israeli control, and the protracted war and occupation. But aside from that, the latest developments suggest there could be movement towards what many Lebanese had feared when the IDF started its latest campaign against Hezbollah in response to Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
That concern was that Israel would use the militant group's decision to attack it in March as a way to pursue its own territorial ambitions, and that occupation was on the agenda once more.
"Israel must understand that a scorched-earth policy, collective punishment, and the destruction of villages and towns will not ensure security nor stability," Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday. "Rather, they will only deepen the divide with the Lebanese people."
Mr Netanyahu is taking a slightly more restrained public position than that of his national security minister, the far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir. He was in one of the border communities over the weekend, insisting that the IDF needed to return to heavy bombardment of Dahiyeh, the Hezbollah stronghold suburb in Beirut.
But Israeli media reported intelligence that Hezbollah's top brass had scattered from Dahiyeh, and razing that part of Beirut's south would not necessarily have the desired outcome. Even with that, Channel 14, the right-wing network closely aligned with the Netanyahu government, foreshadowed further escalation on Sunday as a result of the seizure of Beaufort Castle.
Amidst the very real threat of further fighting and attacks, it is also an election year in Israel. And some of Mr Netanyahu's political opponents are also banging the drums in favour of expanding this war.
That is why this moment is so consequential. And it is all set against a backdrop of a US president trying to broker a deal to end the war, or at the very least delay a return to fighting, with Iran.
Thanks for joining me. I'll see you at the same time next week.
Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War
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Occupied Palestinian Territories
Territorial Disputes
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