On Friday morning, Hezbollah fired 19 rockets into northern Israel and the Golan Heights, 10 of which were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. According to the Lebanese militant group, the launches were in response to Israeli airstrikes the day before. Those, in turn, were launched after an earlier round of rockets were fired into Israel from southern Lebanon.
However, some time afterward, as the truck-mounted rocket launcher was driving through the town of Shouya, a group of several dozen residents mobbed the truck in the town square, pulling the crew members from the vehicle. According to the Times of Israel, Shouya is a town of Druze, an ethnoreligious group distantly related to Muslims, but who in Lebanon’s factional political structure are treated as one of five Muslim communities in the country.
Video posted on social media shows the protesters yelling as one person filming the conflagration says “let the whole world see, Hezbollah is launching rockets next to our houses so that Israel hits us back.”
After the incident, Hezbollah issued a statement verifying the incident occurred, but adding that the group “was, and is, and will always be the most careful about the security of civilians and not expose them to any danger during its work of resistance.”
Separately, a spokesperson from the Lebanese Democratic Party, whose major constituency is Druze, was reported to have said, "There was a misunderstanding in Shwayya after some civilians thought that the truck belongs to fifth columnists, and the Resistance has the right to fire rockets from wherever they want."
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem told reporters later on Friday that the group was “prepared to respond” to another potential Israeli strike on Lebanese territory.
“Israel must understand that it must stay deterred. Otherwise, we are prepared to respond,” he said, according to the Times of Israel.
Hezbollah also released a video of the earlier rocket attack.
After the Friday rocket launches, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is formally charged with keeping the peace between the Litani River and the Blue Line that forms the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon, said the force was coordinating a response with the Lebanese Army.
“This is a very serious situation and we urge all parties to cease fire,” Gen. Stefano Del Col, an Italian commander at the head of UNIFIL, said in a statement.
Samir Geagea, who leads the Lebanese Forces, a far-right Christian party descended from the fascist Kataeb and staunchly opposed to Hezbollah, said on Twitter that "what is happening in the south is dangerous, very dangerous, especially in light of the great tension emerging in the region.”
However, it seems that for now, Israel has “no intention of going to war, but we do not want to turn the Lebanon border into a line of confrontation,” Ran Kochav, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, told reporters.
“The incident shows Hezbollah’s deterrence, as it fired at open areas,” he added, explaining that the rocket launches were primarily intended to make a point, not to destroy or kill. “This is a moderate response from Hezbollah, [so] as to not escalate the situation.”
Nonetheless, Israeli Defense Ministry Benny Gantz told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday that the country is "prepared for any scenario, and will continue to operate against Hezbollah or any of its proxies," according to Reuters.
He added that "additional action must be taken in order to thwart Iranian malign activities, including its nuclear program and attacks in the region and in particular its use of UAVs and missiles."
Later on Friday, the US State Department issued a statement condemning Hezbollah's rocket launches after Gantz asked Washington to do so.
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms Hezbollah’s rocket attacks into Israel. This violence puts Israelis and Lebanese at risk and jeopardizes Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty,” spokesperson Ned Price said.
“We call upon the Lebanese government urgently to prevent such attacks and bring the area under its control,” he added. “We also urge the Lebanese government to facilitate full access for UNIFIL peacekeepers in accordance with UNSCR [United Nations Security Council Resolution] 1701. We strongly encourage all efforts to maintain calm.”