A video went viral on Thursday that showed Israeli troops using a trebuchet to lob fireballs over the wall near the Israeli border with Lebanon, apparently to clear brush.
The Israeli broadcaster KAN published a video of the “creative solution” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers used to reportedly clear dense brush near the border with Lebanon.
פתרונות יצירתיים של לוחמי מילואים במטרה לחשף את השטח בלבנון: תיעוד חריג של חיילי צה"ל משתמשים בחץ וקשת ובנשק עתיק שמשגר כדורי אש מעבר לחומה@ItayBlumental #חדשותהערב pic.twitter.com/7eK7aP6Xw0
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 13, 2024
Trebuchets, which drop a heavy weight to propel a long throwing arm with a sling assembly on the end, have considerably longer range and better accuracy than older catapult designs. They were regarded as such a marvel of technology in their day that trebuchet engineering had a substantial influence on the study of physics across a span of centuries. Some physics and engineering classes still construct trebuchets to demonstrate various principles. Using modern materials and technology to improve the design is a niche hobby.
The soldiers in the video appeared to choose a classic trebuchet design, evidently using a pallet of cinderblocks as the counterweight. They also went with a time-tested recipe for their fireball ammunition, employing vegetation soaked with oil or gasoline.
As for why the IDF would be using a trebuchet to shoot fireballs at Lebanon, when Breitbart News asked the Israeli government on Thursday about social media videos of the incendiary device, a spokesman said he had not heard about it.
The Israeli military later told KAN News (via the Jerusalem Post) that the Lebanese border region is littered with “boulders, thickets, and dense thorn vegetation, which poses a challenge to the IDF troops deployed in defense.”
The IDF said the trebuchet was constructed by reservists at a northern outpost who wanted an efficient way to clear the thorns and thickets on the other side of the border barrier. The video that went viral was reportedly filmed in May.
“This is a local initiative and not a tool that is widely used,” the military spokesperson added.
Other videos showed archers shooting flaming arrows and improvised mortars firing Molotov cocktails. Some commenters on social media joked that the Israeli reservists had likely come up with designs for medieval weapons due to boredom. Israeli troops have been at the border for months, awaiting a possible war with Hezbollah.
