Israel Adds a Medieval Weapon to Its Arsenal in Fight Against Hezbollah
WSJ
By Omar Abdel-Baqui and Anat PeledFollow
June 14, 2024 7:53 am ET
Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border remain high, as Hezbollah launched rockets at northern Israel for a third day, 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 was not 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.
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.
“We continue to be concerned about the exchange of fire across the border,” U.S. national security advisor 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.
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.
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 Defense.
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.”
By Omar Abdel-Baqui and Anat PeledFollow
June 14, 2024 7:53 am ET
Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border remain high, as Hezbollah launched rockets at northern Israel for a third day, 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 was not 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.
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.
“We continue to be concerned about the exchange of fire across the border,” U.S. national security advisor 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.
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.
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 Defense.
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.”
