Israel using trebuchet to fire flaming projectile at Hezbollah

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world to Not The Onion@lemmy.world – 197 points – Video shows Israel using trebuchet to fire flaming projectile at Hezbollah
newsweek.com

Israeli soldiers on the northern border have been seen using a medieval catapult-like weapon to shoot flaming projectiles into Lebanon, igniting plantations to prevent Hezbollah fighters from infiltrating into the south.

Footage widely shared on social media shows the soldiers loading a trebuchet and flinging fireballs into Lebanese territory. "This is a local initiative and not a tool that is widely used," the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement, denying that this is a widely adopted tactic by the forces.

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"We are the only democracy in the region. We must defend ourselves against this barbaric group who have a medieval world-view."

"'...Fire up the trebuchets"

igniting plantations to prevent Hezbollah fighters from infiltrating into the south.

Yeah, that's not the real reason. Might be a secondary reason, but just like in Gaza, destruction of food sources and civilian property is NOT incidental. It's very much a deliberate tactic, which is a war crime.

destruction of food sources and civilian property

Sooo... just bog-standard "counter-insurgency," then?

No. Just because the US military does it with impunity doesn't mean it's standard and not a war crime.

Strange... I could swear it was the exact same strategy used by colonialist forces since colonialism began, including every European power in Africa, right up to modern-day conflicts such as the Anglo-Malayan War, the Vietnam War, and pretty much everything Israel has done right up to this very day.

Are you saying it was all war crimes?

Strange... I could swear it was the exact same strategy used by colonialist forces since colonialism began

Yeah, international humanitarian laws weren't codified because nobody was doing things that they should never do..

Are you saying it was all war crimes?

All the instances of targeting civilians and food sources as a weapon of war? You bet your ass I am.

All the instances of targeting civilians and food sources as a weapon of war? You bet your ass I am.

Well... fine, then.

No, it was added to the Geneva convention in 1977

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation_(crime)

No, it was added to the Geneva convention in 1977

So something is only evil once a pack of institutionalized racketeers writes a bunch of legalese about it?

Well, the question was on the practice's legality, not its morality.

So yes.

I'd say that there's a whole lot more to it than merely it's legality and/or morality.

Depends on whether you define a crime as a "legal" bad action or a "moral" bad action. While the latter may be problematic, because anyone can have different values, it is still widely considered a bad thing to kill people who did not do anything.

Depends on whether you define a crime as a “legal” bad action or a “moral” bad action.

Is that all there is to it, though? The backlash against Israel since Oct 7 isn't adequately explained by either... neither is the generalized silence on Israel's behavior before Oct 7.

I'm reminded here of Sun Tzu's concept of "moral law" - which neither concerns itself with morality nor law, but rather the credibility of the actors in question.

I am by far not an expert on this matter, but my understanding is that if people started becoming vocal about that, it's because most people did not really care or know about the situation until Oct 7, and were bathed in a swarm of news articles since then. It's hard not to have an opinion on something you know nothing about when you hear about it daily.

Just like the Old Testament!

That's the only testament they know.

The new testament was just as boring. I gave it a 3/10. Plot point was all over the place, inconsistencies , unbelievable characters ,and the motivation seemed force. Would not recommend.

Shooting balls of fire might be medieval, but the IDF doesn't care about rules of war and Geneva convention anyway. "eh war crime shmore crime, am I right?"

I might be wrong, but didn't Einstein say something about WW3 being fought with a club? Maybe this is the beginning of that developement back to the roots.

"I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.

Snopes says this sentiment was actually expressed by Einstein, though perhaps not in this exact phrasing.

For what it’s worth, this is the only article I can find that says it was for burning “plantations.”

From NBC News

The official said that while the weapon was not sanctioned by military leadership, the troops were fulfilling a legitimate military task of burning away thick shrubbery along the border where Hezbollah fighters sometimes hide.

Or, if you prefer an outlet with a different perspective…

From Middle East Eye

Israeli media suggested that launching projectiles into Lebanon was aimed at exposing Hezbollah fighters using the dense foliage as cover in the area. It could also be in preparation for a ground invasion.

What israel is allowed to do it create a buffer zone within their own territories. Move back their Nazi colony.

What israel is not allowed to do is create a buffer zone in Lebanon by burning farmland and acres to the ground. Which they subsequently use as excuse to expand their Lebensraum on.