Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says the invading troops will remain stationed at Beaufort Castle after the strategic hilltop was captured in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

Decades after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, “the Israeli flag is once again flying over the peaks overlooking the Galilee communities”, Katz said at a memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers of the 1982 war, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.

“Our heroic soldiers have captured Beaufort once again, and will remain there as part of the security zone in Lebanon,” he was quoted as saying.