Israel had not been able to confirm the flow of Russian-made weapons to the Iran-backed terror group until its forces were on the ground in South Lebanon, the journal said.

According to the outlet, citing a Syrian security official, some of the munitions, including anti-tank missiles manufactured as recently as 2020, were sent to the country from Russian stocks located in Syria. The news contradicts earlier Israeli assessment that the terror group only used Soviet era weapons from the 2006 Second Lebanon War in 2006.

The discoveries also increased fears in Israel, according to the Wall Street Journal, that Moscow was deepening relations with the Iran-backed group despite its insistence on neutrality in the conflict.