Druze residents in a southern Lebanese village halted a Hezbollah convoy carrying rocket launchers that were apparently used to attack Israel on Friday, according to media reports.
The group stopped a truck-mounted multiple launch rocket system as it drove through the village of Chouya in southern Lebanon, video footage showed.
The angry group of villagers accused the terror group members of endangering civilian lives by launching projectiles from close to residential areas.
The Lebanese Army later arrived to confiscate the rocket launcher seen in the video and said it arrested four suspects involved in the rocket fire. It was unclear if any Hezbollah members were detained, but footage showed a man in one of the vehicles surrounded by the crowd.
Reports indicated that the rocket launchers mounted to the vehicle stopped by residents in Chouya were used in the earlier attack, as some of the barrels appeared to be empty.
Hezbollah acknowledged the truck was stopped after the group conducted the attack, but claimed the rockets were fired far from residential areas to ensure civilian safety.
Nearly 20 rockets were fired at the Golan Heights and Galilee Panhandle from Lebanon on Friday morning, the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah both said.
The IDF said 10 projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system and six landed in open around Mount Dov. Another three rockets failed to clear the border and landed in Lebanese territory, according to the military.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group confirmed it had fired the projectiles on Friday, which it said came in response to recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. “The Islamic Resistance shelled open areas near the Sheba Farms with dozens of 122mm rockets,” it said in a statement carried in Arabic-language media.
Military spokesperson Ran Kochav told reporters on Friday that Israel has “no intention of going to war, but we do not want to turn the Lebanon border into a line of confrontation.”
“The incident shows Hezbollah’s deterrence, as it fired at open areas,” Kochav added.
He also asserted Hezbollah intentionally fired the rockets at open areas. Still, the Iron Dome system was activated to intercept some of the rockets, which is usually only done when projectiles are heading for populated areas, military bases or key infrastructure.
“This is a moderate response from Hezbollah, as to not escalate the situation,” Kochav said.
Rocket fire from Lebanon has been exceedingly rare in the 15 years since the 2006 Second Lebanon War Israel fought against Hezbollah, though it has occurred sporadically. Recent months, however, have seen a slight uptick, with 10 launches aimed at Israel during May’s 11-day war in Gaza, as well as last month, leading to fears among some that the phenomenon could become more common, as has happened in areas on the Gaza border
The Druze residents of Hasbaya region attack Hezbollah militias using their villages to launch rockets earlier today and claim they exploit civilian homes and all on residents to document the acts pic.twitter.com/RqIZ80aYI6
— Gaza Report - اخبار غزة (@gaza_report) August 6, 2021
תושבי הכפר הלבנוני חצבאיה זועמים על חיזבאללה על כך שהם יורים טילים על ישראל מהכפר שלהם..ליד הבתים שלהם. אבל הם לא שתקו ולא פחדו ופשוט מנעו מהם להמשיך את הירי!!!
— יוסף חדאד - Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) August 6, 2021
מטורף ‼️ pic.twitter.com/RLHKlXq75p
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