A WSJ report claims that Israel has discovered significant caches of modern Russian weaponry in southern Lebanon, confirming suspicions that Hezbollah has been enhancing its military capabilities with advanced arms sourced from Russian stockpiles in neighboring Syria. Among the newly found weapons are advanced Kornet antitank missiles that were manufactured as recently as 2020, indicating a shift from the older Soviet-era arms previously known to be in Hezbollah's possession.

The findings have raised concerns within Israel regarding a potential deepening of ties between Russia and Hezbollah, despite Russia's claims of neutrality in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Arkady Mil-Man, a former Israeli ambassador to Russia, emphasized the need for Israel to assert its interests and communicate to Russia the consequences of aiding Hezbollah and Iran.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar expressed hopes that Russia could play a role in enforcing disarmament agreements, particularly in preventing the smuggling of weapons from Syria to Lebanon. He stated that ensuring Hezbollah cannot rearm is crucial for any peace arrangement in the region.