Palestinian Fighters Recount Fierce Battle for Lebanon's Beaufort Castle

Recalling the fierce battle for Beaufort Castle over 40 years ago, former Palestinian fighter Moin Al-Taher vividly remembers the historic walls "blazing" under relentless Israeli shelling. He and fellow fighter Mohammed al-Qarout were part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) forces defending the strategic vantage point in south Lebanon during the June 1982 conflict, which ultimately saw Israel seize control and kill all defenders.

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It was on June 6. That day, the castle was subjected to uninterrupted Israeli artillery and air bombardment. I saw the castle, which had come under heavy fire, blazing under the intensity of the shelling.

"It was on June 6. That day, the castle was subjected to uninterrupted Israeli artillery and air bombardment," Taher, 74, who now resides in Amman, Jordan, told AFP. "I saw the castle, which had come under heavy fire, blazing under the intensity of the shelling," he recounted. The battle occurred during Israel's second invasion of Lebanon, which began in 1982.

Taher, who commanded joint Lebanese-Palestinian forces in 1978 and at Beaufort Castle in 1982, was in Beirut when the battle commenced. He managed to reach the area by noon, noting that earlier that morning, fighters had successfully shot down an Israeli warplane and captured its pilot. An attempt to reach the castle later that day resulted in Taher being wounded by shrapnel when their vehicle came under Israeli fire.

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That morning, the fighters had managed to shoot down an Israeli warplane and capture its pilot.

Inside the castle, approximately 30 fighters from the "Jarmaq Battalion," comprising members from Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, and Yemen, fought under Fatah, Yasser Arafat's faction. By 1981, Israeli airstrikes had significantly damaged the castle. The defenders responded by reinforcing it with trenches, bunkers, and a 150-meter tunnel. The castle's constant bombardment made it notorious, with daily communiques announcing the shelling. Qarout, 69, also a PLO veteran, now focuses on documenting Fatah's history, including the Beaufort Castle battle, and shared photographs from the era, including one showing a ladder he installed to access the fortress after its entrance was destroyed.

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Every day, a communique would announce that the enemy had shelled Beaufort Castle.