Israel Seized 85,000 Hezbollah Weapons in Southern Lebanon Operations

Soldiers seized more than 85,000 items of loot from Hezbollah since entering Lebanon, the Israel Defence Forces announced on Wednesday.

Forces operated in more than 30 villages across southern Lebanon, where weapons caches, rocket launchers and tunnel shafts were repeatedly found in and around civilian areas.

“The weapons confiscated were used by Hezbollah and were intended to harm the citizens of the State of Israel, as part of the plan to ‘conquer the Galilee,'” the IDF said.

The army’s breakdown of captured weapons included 6,840 RPG rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles and launchers; 340 Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles and launchers; 20 vehicles, including jeeps and pickup trucks; 9,000 explosives; 60 anti-aircraft missiles; 60,800 electronic devices such as phones, laptops, and communication devices; 2,250 missiles and shells; 2,700 light weapons and 2,860 other miscellaneous weapons.

Israeli lawmakers are considering authorizing the transfer of captured Russian-made weapons to Ukraine.

Based on previous photos and videos released by the Israel Defence Forces, the seized Russian arms include Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, Strela shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, RPG-29 Vampire and RPG-27 Tavolga rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Metis-M anti-tank missile systems, and MRO-A rocket-propelled anti-personnel flamethrowers. Also confiscated were stockpiles of Kalashnikov rifles.

The Russian weapons were found in larger quantities than expected, often in their original crates with Russian labels. The Wall St. Journal reported that as much as 70 per cent of Hezbollah’s weapons were Russian-made.

Under the terms of a two-month ceasefire that went into effect on November 27, Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw its armed presence from areas of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River. Israeli forces will also withdraw from southern Lebanon in stages. The Lebanese Armed Forces is to be deployed in southern Lebanon including along the 120 km border with Israel, as will monitors from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

According to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah is forbidden from operating in southern Lebanon south of the Litani River.