Israel adds a medieval weapon to its arsenal in fight against Hezbollah
Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border remain high as tit-for-tat skirmishes risk dragging the two parties into a wider war | WATCH
Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border remain high, as Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at northern Israel in the last three days, while the Israeli military has turned to a medieval device to launch fireballs into southern Lebanon to clear brush where it says militants are hiding.
Verified footage shows Israeli troops using a trebuchet – a type of catapult that uses a heavy weight – to hurl flaming projectiles over a large concrete wall as one soldier shouts “come on, another one!”. Israeli troops who previously saw the device being used said its purpose was to burn vegetation to increase visibility for Israeli troops and prevent Hezbollah militants from using the brush as cover. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed troops used the trebuchet in an isolated event and on a specific target.
An Israeli reservist who saw the trebuchet in use earlier said it was initially created by reservists in a battalion stationed in northern Israel several months ago, adding that its construction wasn’t an official directive. After a video of the device was widely circulated online this week, many in Israel mocked the high-tech nation for returning to medieval tactics.
Israel has at times turned to unconventional and decades-old techniques in its conflict with Hezbollah over the past several months. Israel has regularly scrambled GPS signals in its north to divert Hezbollah’s guided weapons, leaving Israel’s own troops without GPS and sometimes relying on earlier screenshots of maps for navigation. Israeli forces have also reprinted a 1950s manual on forgotten defensive techniques, like digging foxholes.
The barrage of projectiles launched from both sides of the border has caused fires to spread in the dry brush and raised concerns about further escalation. It took Israel several days to gain control of large wildfires caused by suspected Hezbollah drone and rocket attacks earlier this month.
There have been growing concerns in Washington about the conflict on the border. On Tuesday, Gen. Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, made his first Pentagon visit in more than two years, in part to discuss escalating tensions with Israel. That same day, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, discussing efforts to de-escalate tensions, according to the Pentagon.
“We continue to be concerned about the exchange of fire across the border,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese have been evacuated from towns and villages along the border. The fires risk disrupting the return of displaced people and threaten populations who rely on farming, analysts say. U.S. officials are investigating Israel’s possible use of white phosphorus, a highly flammable compound that is banned in certain circumstances, during Israeli attacks in Lebanon in mid-October, according to a U.S. official. The Israeli military has said that its use of white phosphorus complies with international law.
Lebanon has filed over 20 complaints with the United Nations since October regarding Israel’s military activity in Lebanon, including its alleged use of white phosphorus, a senior Lebanese diplomat said. A spokesman for the U.N. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
About 35 projectiles were fired toward Israel from Lebanon on Friday morning, causing a fire to break out in at least one area, according to the Israeli military. The military also said that Hezbollah launched 16 drones toward Israel in the last 72 hours.
Two Lebanese women were killed in a suspected Israeli strike on a residential building in the village of Jannata on Thursday night, according to the Lebanese Civil Defence.
Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at Israel on Wednesday after an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed commander Taleb Sami Abdullah, one of the most senior members of the militia. The Israeli military said Wednesday that about 215 rockets were fired from Lebanon at towns in northern Israel, causing fires but no casualties.
The recent escalations come as Israel is facing domestic pressure from its residents displaced from the north to ensure it is safe enough for them to return to their homes. Analysts say Hezbollah is aiming to deter Israel from operating with impunity on Lebanese territory, while also exerting political pressure on Israel amid cease-fire negotiations with Hamas, a Hezbollah ally.
Hassan Nasrallah, head of Hezbollah, has said that the group won’t halt its operations along the border until Israel ceases fire in Gaza.
The tit-for-tat border skirmishes risk dragging the two parties into a wider war, analysts say.
“The trend suggests that is the direction we are heading,” said Randa Slim, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington. “The past implicit rules of engagement between the two keep getting violated. Each side is upping the ante.”
– Adam Chamseddine and Nancy A. Youssef contributed to this article.
The Wall Street Journal
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