Israeli troops on Sunday claimed to have taken control of the strategically located Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon for the first time in 26 years during ground operations against the Hezbollah militia.

Israeli cities remain under rocket fire in northern Israel after 965 days of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The airstrikes came as Israel’s military issued evacuation warnings for more than a dozen villages in southern Lebanon, a day after Lebanese and Israeli military officials held their first direct talk...