The Battle of the Beaufort was fought between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on June 6, 1982 over Beaufort Castle, Lebanon. It was one of the first clashes of the 1982 Lebanon War, and resulted in the IDF capturing the castle.
Located 717 meters above sea level, Beaufort Castle commands great parts of the Upper Galilee and South Lebanon. It could be used to direct artillery, and even Syria had sent...
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The Battle of the Beaufort was fought between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on June 6, 1982 over Beaufort Castle, Lebanon. It was one of the first clashes of the 1982 Lebanon War, and resulted in the IDF capturing the castle.
Located 717 meters above sea level, Beaufort Castle commands great parts of the Upper Galilee and South Lebanon. It could be used to direct artillery, and even Syria had sent artillery spotters there. Israel shelled the fortress repeatedly, but could never actually enter it - the massive basalt rocks of the Medieval construction proving an effective defense even in face of modern artillery and aerial bombardments. For Israel, it had become a symbol of the Palestinian power over the region. For the Palestinians, it served as a memento of Saladin's victory over the Crusaders in 1192 and of their own endurance against Israel, and the PLO used it as the colophon on leaflets.
Two weeks before the war started, Yasser...
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