Israel "likely will consider providing lethal aid under increased US pressure or a perceived degradation" of its relations with Russia, one of the classified documents, titled Israel: Pathways to Providing Lethal Aid to Ukraine, said, according to the media.
The document, marked as an "exploratory analysis" and dated 28 February, said that Israel is committed to supplying intelligence and nonlethal defensive systems to Ukraine while trying to balance its relations with the United States and Russia to keep its freedom of action in Syria, The New York Times reported.
The document added that the most plausible scenario out of the four it outlines is that, under US pressure, Israel might adopt the "Turkish model" and deliver lethal arms to Ukraine via third parties, while at the same time advocating the peaceful settlement of the conflict and offering its mediation, the newspaper reported.
Another scenario, which could encourage Israel to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons and is analyzed in the document, includes Russian supplies of strategic systems to Iran, Israel's adversary, or Moscow expanding assistance to Tehran's nuclear program.
The third situation outlined in the document involves Washington exerting leverage on Israel in case it seeks more support for its operations against Iran.
And finally, the document also outlines a situation in which Russia's use of sophisticated air defense systems against Israeli warplanes operating in Syria, thus incurring Israeli casualties, could also lead to a decision by Israel to provide Ukraine with lethal arms, the media reported, citing the leaked document.
According to the report, the document also lists the weapons that Israel could transfer to Ukraine, including the Barak-8 and Spyder surface-to-air missiles and the Spike anti-tank guided missile.
Since the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Israel has been resisting providing Kiev with aid and focusing instead on humanitarian assistance. In January, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was considering providing military assistance to Ukraine including the Iron Dome air defense system. In mid-March, the Israeli prime minister held a meeting with one of the issues on the agenda being possible military supplies to Ukraine.