Angry residents in south Lebanon village seize Hezbollah rocket launcher after Israel strikes

Residents of a south Lebanon village caught members affiliated to Hezbollah on Friday morning and seized a rocket launcher the group used to fire into Israel.

Videos shared online showed men in the Druze village of Shwayya, in the Hasbayya border district, capturing members of the Shia paramilitary group passing through the village.

They also confiscated the missile launcher and handed it over to the Lebanese army.

اهالي شويا يفتحون الطريق للجيش اللبناني الذي وصل الى القرية لتسلم الراجمات الصاروخية التي اوقفها الاهالي. #الجنوب pic.twitter.com/sKlwV0Yhny

— Rawad Taha (@rawadtaha) August 6, 2021

Hezbollah later released a statement on the matter.

"At 11.15 am (8.15 am GMT) on Friday, the Islamic Resistance responded to Zionist attacks on Lebanon by targeting Israeli posts in the Shebaa Farms with rockets from a forested area completely far from residential areas in order to preserve the security of citizens," the statement said.

It added that while its members were returning from the site from where it launched the missiles into northern Israel, a number of civilians stopped them, claiming that it was "keen on protecting its people and not exposing them to any harm during its resistance work."

Angry residents of the village said Hezbollah launching missiles from between resident homes put them at danger.

More than 10 rockets were fired across the border Friday morning, prompting Israeli warplanes to strike targets in southern Lebanon for a second day straight.

Hezbollah claimed the rocket fire.

Rockets fired from Lebanon two days ago drew retaliatory Israeli shelling and air strikes, in an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid friction with Iran.