Reports of renewed IDF activity near Beaufort Castle revive memories of one of Israel’s most painful Lebanon symbols: from the 1982 battle and years in the security zone to the 2000 withdrawal; Former National Security Council official Orna Mizrahi questions the value of retaking the strategic siteTwenty-six years after IDF soldiers left Beaufort Castle in a massive explosion that symbolized the end of Israel’s presence in Lebanon, reports of renewed military activity near the mountain over the past two days are reviving memories of the strategic site etched into Israeli consciousness. From the outpost used by PLO to fire on northern communities, through the bloody Golani Reconnaissance Unit battle in the First Lebanon War, to the long years of the security zone and the dramatic withdrawal in 2000.The Crusader fortress of Beaufort, rising about 700 meters above sea level, has dominated southern Lebanon and Israel’s Galilee Panhandle for centuries. Until 1982, the site was held by PLO militants, who used its strategic location to shell Galilee communities with mortars and Katyusha rockets and to block any potential northward IDF maneuver through surveillance. When "Operation Peace for Galilee began", Israel’s defense establishment believed that neutralizing the “monster on the mountain” was essential to removing the threat to northern residents.4 View gallery Attack on Beaufort Castle (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)“Beaufort carries symbolic weight because of our history there as an army,” explained Orna Mizrahi, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council. “It is a symbol because of everything that happened there — the significance of capturing the fortress, the years of holding it and ultimately abandoning it.”The order to capture Beaufort was assigned to the Golani Reconnaissance Unit. On the night between June 6 and June 7, 1982, the fighters climbed the mountain along a narrow winding route in what became one of the most famous and painful battles in Israeli military history. Combat took place at point-blank range inside narrow communication trenches and fortified bunkers against fierce militant resistance.4 View gallery Beaufort Castle (Photo: David Rubinger)The battle was won, but at an unbearable cost. Six fighters and commanders from the unit were killed, including Lieutenant Avikam Sharaf, commander of the lead team, and Major Goni Harnik, commander of the reconnaissance unit, who took command of the assault after the battalion commander was critically wounded on the fortress roof.After the IDF withdrew to the security zone line in 1985, Beaufort’s role shifted from an offensive asset to an isolated frontline defensive outpost. For 15 years, infantry and engineering soldiers lived there in reinforced underground bunkers while enduring thousands of mortar shells and anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah. The road leading to the outpost became known as the “Bloody Route” because of the many roadside bombs planted along it.4 View gallery Soldiers leaving Lebanon. May 2000