Israel Reveals Massive Hamas and Hezbollah Arsenal With Iranian Weapons, Russian Rifles and Nazi-Era Guns
Israel has opened the doors to one of the IDF’s most extraordinary collections: a sprawling arsenal of weapons seized from Hamas and Hezbollah, exposing just how diverse the terror groups’ military supply chains have become.
Fox News Digital was given rare access inside the IDF’s Tzrifin Base in central Israel, where confiscated rockets, drones, sniper rifles, mortars, anti-tank launchers, machine guns and other battlefield equipment are being stored and studied.
The weapons were captured during fighting in Gaza, southern Lebanon and Israel since the October 7 massacre.
Among the most striking discoveries are weapons from Iran, Russia and China alongside arms made in Lebanon and Gaza.
The collection includes Russian AK-103 and AK-104 rifles, Chinese and Russian submachine guns, Russian- and Iranian-made anti-tank launchers, Iranian mortars and sophisticated sniper rifles.
The IDF also displayed Austrian Steyr rifles, including the powerful HS .50, as well as an Iranian copy of the weapon.
But two weapons stood out for an entirely different reason: firearms manufactured in Nazi Germany.
DF forces seized an MG-34 machine gun bearing an eagle-and-swastika marking from a Hezbollah compound in Lebanon, along with an MP 44, also known as the StG 44, another German weapon from the Nazi era. Lt. Col. Idan Sharon-Kettler, commander of the IDF unit handling captured equipment, told Fox the MG-34 may have been kept by Hezbollah for propaganda or morale purposes.
The cache also illustrates how Hezbollah adapted civilian-style vehicles for combat. One captured ATV had been configured to carry six anti-tank rockets and launchers, allowing terrorists positioned on elevated terrain to threaten vehicles traveling below.
Iranian-made mortars were recovered in particularly large numbers, with Sharon-Kettler saying Israeli forces found “hundreds” in Lebanon.
The IDF also recovered dozens of Iranian-made cannons, including weapons positioned inside homes.
For Israel, the collection is not simply a war trophy. The IDF’s Seized Equipment Evacuation Unit analyzes captured weapons to understand enemy capabilities and adapt Israeli tactics and protective equipment. Captured ammunition is tested against Israeli helmets and body armor, while systems such as Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles are studied so frontline units can adjust how they operate against them.
The scale is enormous. The IDF says more than 155,000 weapons and military items were confiscated or destroyed during Operation Northern Arrows against Hezbollah, including rockets, anti-tank weapons, explosive devices, drones and communications equipment.
The foreign origins also reinforce what Israel has long described as Iran’s central role in building the military capabilities of its proxies.
The IDF previously revealed documents showing senior Iranian commander Saeed Izadi working to facilitate two proposed weapons transfers to Hamas valued at roughly $46 million combined.
Israel has also struck an Iranian anti-tank missile production facility that the IDF said was used to manufacture weapons transferred to Hezbollah and other Iran-backed terrorist organizations.
What now sits inside Tzrifin is effectively a physical record of that network: Iranian weaponry, Russian and Chinese arms, locally manufactured systems and, remarkably, guns carrying the markings of Nazi Germany, all recovered from the arsenals Israel has been fighting across multiple fronts.
