Israel’s former prime minister, Naftali Bennett, is facing a fierce backlash and accusations of spreading “propaganda” to legitimise attacks on civilians after alleging that Lebanese households are being used to hide rocket launchers for Hezbollah.

“Many Shiites in Lebanon have a unique revenue stream. In their home, they have a special ‘Rocket Launcher Room’. They’re paid monthly rent by Hezbollah to host this launcher and be prepared to shoot rockets at Israel communities on demand,” Naftali Bennett claimed on Monday in a post on X, without providing evidence.”

Many compared Bennett’s post to false claims made by Israeli officials throughout their assault on the Gaza Strip.

"In Gaza - the world taught the Israeli political elite that any and all violence of theirs, however gruesome/illegal/inhumane will be forgiven, so long as they can string together any argument, however flimsy/fabricated/embarrassing. They are now applying this lesson in Lebanon,” said another X user.