Israeli troops stationed on the Lebanese border have used a medieval siege weapon known as a trebuchet during recent battles against Hezbollah militants.
This is reported by NBC News with confirmation from an Israeli military official.
A video has surfaced online showing the weapon hurling a fireball, causing equal parts confusion and laughter in Israel at a time when Israeli forces and Hezbollah were engaged in some of the most intense fighting of the entire war.
In particular, the six-second video shows Israeli troops watching the trebuchet, which had all but disappeared from the battlefield in the 15th century, fire a flaming projectile over a fortified wall. One soldier holds a fire extinguisher.
The video also shows a soldier aiming a bow and arrows.
In a comment to the publication, an anonymous Israeli military official said that the weapon was not part of the IDF's standard arsenal and was believed to have been made by reservists stationed on the border.
He said that although the use of weapons was not authorized by the military leadership, the troops were carrying out a legitimate military task - burning thick bushes along the border, where Hezbollah fighters sometimes hide.
The official added that these weapons will no longer be used.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for official comment.
According to the IDF, since Wednesday, Hezbollah has fired more than 200 missiles on Israel, the largest shelling by the Iran-backed militant group since the start of cross-border hostilities on October 8. Hezbollah, in turn, said that the shelling was carried out in response to an Israeli strike that killed one of its senior commanders on Tuesday.
The trebuchet was first used in battle in the 4th century BC. The basic design involves a heavy weight that falls and causes a long arm with a lighter bow attached to it to rise up, throwing a rock or other projectile toward the target. A useful weapon for the siege of medieval castles, it lost its relevance with the advent of gunpowder artillery.
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