Israel releases images of missiles atop launchers in the attic of Lebanese home

As Israeli fighter jets pound Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has released images of a missile system stored in the attic of a home in the  Lebanon village of Houmine al-Tahta. The image shows a rocket atop a hydraulic launcher in a home.

Israel claims the weapons siloed in Lebanese homes included cruise missiles, rockets with large warheads and drones. 

On Monday, Israel conducted airstrikes at over 1,600 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon Monday, with most of them aimed at weapons stored in homes. 

These included cruise missiles that can reach hundreds of kilometres, heavy rockets with a 1,000-kilogram warhead, medium-range rockets that reach a range of up to 200 kilometres, short-range rockets, and armed unmanned aerial vehicles," the IDF claimed. 

Israeli media reports claim that Hezbollah has been offering money to residents of impoverished Shia villages and residents in southern Lebanon to provide a room in their homes in exchange for a steady rental payment. According to Ynet News, the houses are modified with a roof that can be quickly removed, allowing the missile to be raised and launched within minutes. The families serve both as human shields and camouflage.

The report added that the militant group has so far not deployed these missiles, reserving them for a critical phase in its conflict with Israel. The aim is to surprise the Israeli home front, including the central region.

Ahead of the Israeli attack on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warned civilians in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, calling on them to flee from homes where Hezbollah has been storing weapons. 

"We are preparing to strike terror targets in the Beqaa Valley in the near future," Hagari said. "I am warning the Lebanese residents in the villages in the Beqaa Valley. This is a specific warning to the residents of the Beqaa Valley. Residents who are near buildings or inside homes where missiles and weapons are stored, distance yourselves from them immediately!" he added.

After the rockets hit the targets, videos doing rounds on social media showed several minor explosions from the targets, which many claimed were the weapons exploding. 

Hagari too claimed that "every home" hit by the Israeli Air Force was used by Hezbollah to store weapons. "The sights that are now seen in southern Lebanon are Hezbollah’s weapons exploding inside houses. Every home we struck, there are rockets, drones, missiles, which were intended to kill Israeli civilians," he said.