This photograph, taken in Marjayoun, in southern Lebanon, shows Israeli flags flying over the medieval Beaufort Castle, known locally as Qalaat al-Shaqif, near the village of Arnoun, which was hit by an Israeli strike on June 3, 2026. (Credit: AFP)
SOUTH LEBANON — The Bhannes Geophysical Center of the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) said Friday morning that the massive explosion carried out by the Israeli army at Beaufort Castle in the Nabatieh region of south Lebanon "generated seismic waves equivalent to a 3.8-magnitude tremor on the Richter scale."
The Israeli army carried out a large-scale detonation at 12:02 a.m., on Thursday into Friday night, at the Beaufort Castle hill, a major archaeological site dating back to the Crusader period, in south Lebanon. Israel says it destroyed a large Hezbollah tunnel network at the site using a 700-ton TNT charge.
In recent days, experts have warned against carrying out such a large-scale explosion in the area, which lies close to one of Lebanon’s major fault lines — the Roum fault.
The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which resumed on March 2, has already resulted in new Israeli occupation of dozens of towns and villages, as well as unprecedented destruction.
