The Iranian-sourced weapons used in Hamas and Islamic Jihad's Israel assault

On the right, an image from a video taken in October 2023 showing Hamas firing a Shahab drone at targets in Israel. On the left, a Hamas propaganda video of a military exercise with a Shahab drone, released in 2021. © Observers

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement launched an incursion into Israel on October 7, attacking by air and ground. While the range of weapons they’ve employed has garnered international attention, none of these armaments comes as a revelation. Both Hamas's armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, and Islamic Jihad's Al Quds Brigades have previously showcased these weapons in propaganda materials and military parades as well as using them against Israeli targets. The majority of these weapons have origins in Iran, and those produced within Gaza are also believed to have been developed by the Islamic Republic, with a small fraction originating from North Korea and Syria.