The loot includes Soviet tanks, rare French and German rifles from the World Wars, collectible pistols, explosive devices, missiles, launchers, and drones. The IDF gathered this massive haul from Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza—so heavy that soldiers joked their backs were breaking under the weight. But what happens to it all now?  

Ynet tells how one evening in mid-November, Lt. Col. (Res.) Idan Sharon-Katler, deputy commander of the IDF’s War Spoils Unit, convened a debriefing with his counterparts from the intelligence directorate’s parallel unit, the Armament Analysis Division. The room was filled with reservist officers who finally had a chance to sit back, sip their coffee, and reflect with satisfaction on their latest achievement: thousands of seized weapons successfully extracted from southern Lebanon—just before the IDF wrapped up its ground operation and a ceasefire was declared. And that was after tens of thousands of weapons had already been collected from Gaza in the previous year.  

“Let’s set up a spoils collection station at the Quneitra crossing,” Idan, known for his long ponytail, joked. The comment was not only a nod to the fact that the unit hadn’t operated on two battlefronts simultaneously since the Yom Kippur War in 1973 but also turned out to be prophetic. “We all laughed,” he recalled. “We had no idea that Assad’s regime would collapse within a week, and we’d actually have to deal with Soviet tanks and anti-tank missiles from the ‘Pita’ outposts in the Syrian Golan.”  

Since the outbreak of Operation Iron Swords, the IDF’s central war spoils unit, operating under the Technology and Logistics Directorate, has accumulated approximately 180,000 weapons and military items from Gaza, southern Lebanon, and Syria - enough to arm a small army.  

WHAT’S IN THE HAUL?  

Beyond the cash, gold, and jewelry worth millions of shekels, the captured arsenal includes a variety of anti-aircraft missiles, drones, advanced anti-tank missiles with varying ranges, thousands of explosive devices of different sizes, and thousands of standard-issue rifles—some still in their original packaging. The list also features sniper rifles, military radios, compasses, binoculars, night vision equipment, uniforms, boots, dozens of vehicles, and even collector’s treasures: rare French rifles from the 1930s and valuable pistols that Hezbollah’s top operatives once carried.

Think of it as Indiana Jones meets Maroun al-Ras.  

These massive stockpiles, weighing several tons, are now stored across the country in dozens of fortified warehouses and secret bunkers, awaiting a decision on their ultimate fate—a question that, for now, remains partially unanswered.  

SPOILS ON THEIR BACKS IN RADWAN TERRITORY  

One of the first officers to be sent on classified Northern Command missions in southern Lebanon in early 2024 was Major A. from the IDF’s elite Egoz unit. A seasoned, sharp, and battle-hardened officer—physically formidable as well—he led a team of commandos who had just finished intense combat against Hamas strongholds in Khan Younis, Gaza.  

At the time, Israeli attention was fixated on the south—whether to advance into Rafah, negotiate another hostage deal, or wait. But A. and his fellow commandos were already focused on a different front.