During recent operations targeting Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, Israeli military forces discovered advanced Russian weaponry, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In an interview, Netanyahu revealed that the weapons were found in tunnels and caches linked to Hezbollah.
Netanyahu highlighted that, under a 2006 UN Security Council resolution, only the Lebanese army is permitted to have weapons in the region south of the Litani River. “However, Hezbollah has constructed hundreds of tunnels and storage sites in the area, where we recently uncovered a significant amount of advanced Russian weapons,” he stated.
The Israeli prime minister stressed that Israel has no intention of instigating internal conflict in Lebanon. “A new civil war in Lebanon would be a tragedy. It is not our goal to provoke one. Israel is not looking to interfere in Lebanon’s internal affairs,” Netanyahu told *Le Figaro*, referring to the ongoing Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operations in Lebanon.
According to Netanyahu, the primary objective of Israel’s actions is to ensure the safety of its citizens living near the Lebanon border. “Our sole aim is to allow our people to return home and live in peace,” he added.
While Netanyahu did not specify the types of Russian weapons discovered, the Israeli military command released footage on October 16 showing a weapons cache found in a civilian building in southern Lebanon. Among the weapons identified were Russian-made Kornet anti-tank guided missile systems and Igla man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), with production dates ranging from 2018 to 2021.
