Israeli troops use medieval-style trebuchet in fighting on Lebanese border

TEL AVIV — Israeli troops stationed on the Lebanese border fired a medieval-style siege weapon known as a trebuchet during recent fighting against Hezbollah militants, an Israeli military official confirmed to NBC News.

A video of the weapon launching a fireball emerged Thursday, sparking both confusion and amusement in Israel, even as Israeli troops and Hezbollah were engaged in some of the most intense fighting of the war.

The six-second video shows Israeli troops watching the trebuchet – which largely disappeared from battlefields in the 15th century – fire a flaming projectile over a fortified wall. A soldier is seen holding a fire extinguisher in case something goes wrong.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the weapon was not part of the IDF's standard arsenal and was believed to have been manufactured by reservist soldiers stationed at the border.

The official said that while the weapon was not approved by military leaders, the troops were carrying out a legitimate military task of burning thick bushes along the border where Hezbollah fighters sometimes hide.

The weapon will no longer be used, the official added. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for official comment.

Hezbollah has fired more than 200 rockets into Israel since Wednesday, according to the Israeli military, in what appears to be the largest bombardment by the Iran-backed militant group since cross-border fighting began on October 8. an Israeli strike that killed one of its senior commanders on Tuesday.

The low-tech siege weapon, which appeared to be made of wood, was used while the skies above were filled with some of the belligerents' most advanced technology. Israeli warplanes flew over the border in one direction, while Hezbollah's increasingly sophisticated explosive drones flew overhead in the other.

The Trebuchet, to put it mildly, does not have this level of targeting accuracy.

First used in combat in the 4th century BC, its basic design involves a heavy weight falling and raising a long arm with an attached sling towards the sky, hurling a stone or other projectile towards its target.

A useful weapon for besieging medieval castles, it became useless with the advent of reliable gunpowder artillery.