Hamas Armed With Weapons From Iran, China, Russia And North Korea Amid Ongoing Conflict In Israel: Report

The militant group Hamas has been reportedly fighting with an array of weapons sourced from Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea.

What Happened: An Associated Press assessment of over 150 videos and images from the past three months of combat reveals that despite a 17-year blockade aimed at stopping military accumulation, Hamas has gathered a diverse set of weaponry from around the world.

These weapons have been effectively employed in the urban warfare in Gaza. Hamas fighters utilize guerilla tactics against the superior Israeli armament and technology, as evidenced by recent propaganda videos showing the shooting of Israeli soldiers through sniper rifle scopes.

Experts from the AP reviewed these images and identified unique features that suggest the countries of origin for many of these weapons. However, they could not confirm whether these were supplied by the countries’ governments or purchased from the thriving Middle East black market.

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A Hamas spokesperson, Ghazi Hamad, in an interview with the AP, stated, “We are searching everywhere for weapons, for political support, for money.” He did not provide details about who supplied the weapons or how they were smuggled into Gaza.

Despite these obstacles, Hamas has managed to obtain weapons that seem relatively new, indicating that the group has found methods to evade the air-and-sea blockade of the Gaza Strip.

N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of the Australian-based Armament Research Services, said, “The majority of their arms are of Russian, Chinese or Iranian origin, but North Korean weapons and those produced in former Warsaw Pact countries are also present in the arsenal.”

Why It Matters: This discovery comes amidst a volatile Israel-Hamas conflict, which has seen a surge in defense stocks and raised concerns about the future of U.S. inflation. The conflict, which resulted in a formal declaration of war by Israel on Hamas, has also attracted attention from the U.S. administration, with Vice President Kamala Harris issuing a warning to Iran about entering the conflict. This revelation about the diverse sources of Hamas’s weapons adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing crisis.

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