AP News analyzes about 150 photos and videos
Confirmed use of weapons by North Korea, Iran, China, Russia, etc.
The Associated Press reported on the 15th (local time) that Hamas, a Palestinian armed faction that is at war with Israel, is using weapons made in North Korea, Iran, China, and Russia.
The news agency analyzed about 150 related videos and photos taken over the three months following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
As a result of analysis by experts, it was possible to identify the characteristics and markings of many of the weapons used by Hamas, including where they were manufactured.
However, it is unknown whether the government provided the weapons directly or whether Hamas purchased them on the black market.
The news agency pointed out that there were many photos showing Hamas using relatively new weapons, which could be evidence that Hamas has found a way to arm itself by breaking through the air and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.
“Most of their weapons come from Russia, China and Iran, but they also have North Korean weapons and weapons from former Warsaw Pact countries in their arsenals,” said NR Jenzen Jones, a military expert at Australia-based think tank Armaments Research Service (ARES). “It is included,” he said.
According to an analysis by the news agency, Hamas’ arsenal includes small arms, machine guns, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, and homemade anti-tank projectiles.
Jonathan Ferguson, firearms curator at the Royal Armories Museum in England, analyzed that after examining photos and videos, firearms made in China and Iran were so similar that they were indistinguishable.
AP previously reported that Hamas used RPGs with distinctive red stripes indicating they were produced in North Korea. Ferguson also identified an RPG with signs that it appeared to have been made in Bulgaria.
An Israeli military official familiar with Hamas’ arsenal said that Hamas uses a combination of smuggled “off-the-shelf” weapons, such as AK-47s, rocket launchers (RPGs) and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as homegrown weapons made from readily available civilian materials.
“There is a huge military and defense industry in the Gaza Strip,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
The official said most of the weapons are believed to have been brought in through Egypt. He said it is easy to purchase and there is no need to source it directly from the manufacturing country.
Source: Donga
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