Beaufort castle blasts threaten Israel deal, Aoun says

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun warned Friday that Israeli detonations near the UNESCO-listed Beaufort castle were a “direct threat” to a recent framework agreement with Israel.

Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli forces triggered powerful explosions overnight in the area of the Beaufort fortress, a Crusader-era castle near Lebanon's southern border with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army had destroyed “terror tunnels in the Beaufort area” using about 700 tonnes of explosives. The Israeli army said the tunnel network served as a central command centre for Hezbollah and included several underground levels built over two decades.

Aoun called the detonations “an extremely dangerous escalation” and said their timing before another round of talks with Israel in Rome next week “sends negative messages and undermines international efforts aimed at consolidating stability”.

Under the Israel-Lebanon deal, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from “pilot zones” where Lebanese forces will later deploy.

Aoun's office, citing Lebanon's National Centre for Geophysics, said the detonations created ground waves equivalent to a 3.8 magnitude earthquake.

Lebanon's culture ministry said the explosions struck “the area opposite the fortress” and warned that vibrations may have caused damage nearby. It said technical teams could not carry out an on-site assessment because the site is under Israeli occupation.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned what he called ongoing Israeli aggression in the south, including damage to archaeological sites.

Netanyahu and Katz said the detonations followed what they called a blatant ceasefire violation by Hezbollah. Israel's army had accused Hezbollah on Wednesday of launching an explosive drone at a military vehicle.

Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks since a ceasefire with Israel came into force on June 20. The group urged Lebanese authorities to act at political and diplomatic levels to stop what it called destructive crimes by the enemy.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported three “violent” explosions on Friday evening on the outskirts of Taybeh.

Violence has declined since June, but Lebanon continues to report Israeli strikes, artillery shelling and building detonations in southern villages.