About 60-70 per cent of all weapons seized by Israel from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah during the start of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon were of Russian origin, according to a report. Though Israel had always known that Russian arms were being used by Hezbollah, the extent of the trove, including the presence of the latest advanced weapons, has taken Israel by surprise.
Some of these weapons include 2020-made Kornet antitank missiles provided by Russia to Syria. These missiles went from Syrian hands to Lebanon, the Wall Street Journal quoted an Arab and Syrian official told WSJ.
The Russian weapons in Hezbollah's possession are newer, more advanced and in large quantities than military analysts expected. They believe these weapons have been crucial for Hezbollah to hold its forte even after its top leadership was decimated.
Israel claims to have captured several Hezbollah strongholds and tunnels in southern Lebanon, loaded with weapons.
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) October 6, 2024
They showed an Israeli-made machine gun and a jeep, which strangely has an inscription in Hebrew that they forgot to remove.
Which suggests it's another… pic.twitter.com/uGoDnMxsxI
Earlier, there were reports that US intelligence claims Russia’s Wagner Group was planning to provide the Pantsir-S1 system to Hezbollah.
The cache has triggered concern in Israel about the deepening bond between Russia and Hezbollah. Both fought on the side of Syria’s President Bashar Assad in the Syrian civil war. Interestingly, some of the weapons used by Hezbollah against Israel were similar to the ones Russia used against Ukraine.
Russia holds considerable sway over Hezbollah, which Israel is aware of. To keep Russia from rearming Hezbollah, Israel had sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's confidant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to Russia covertly. He aimed to seek Russian intervention to secure a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Russia has another reason to help Hezbollah with small-scale military assistance to counter Israel's bombardments. Russia hopes this will help prolong Hezbollah’s resistance and cause the US to redirect weapons to Israel that would otherwise reach Ukraine, according to the Middle East Institute.
Meanwhile, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel has proposed giving any Russian-made weapons seized by the IDF in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, or the West Bank to Ukraine. "Russian-manufactured weaponry seized in Lebanon or the Palestinian Authority territories, which the defence minister determines is not required for Israel’s defense needs, will be transferred to the Government of Ukraine to strengthen its military capabilities in combating forces that threaten its sovereignty," he proposed.
However, this proposal is unlikely to be passed as Israeli governments have refused to send arms to Ukraine throughout the war and the policy is unlikely to change.
