Some of the weapons Hamas terrorists used in their Oct. 7 attack on Israel were likely supplied by North Korea, analysts believe.
Weapons captured by Israel from the battlefield show what experts say are Pyongyang’s F-7 rocket-propelled grenades. Images published by Hamas also picture the terrorists with these weapons, which have a “distinctive red stripe across its warhead” among other design features matching the F-7, the Associated Press reports.
“North Korea has long supported Palestinian militant groups, and North Korean arms have previously been documented amongst interdicted supplies,” weapons expert N.R. Jenzen-Jones told the AP.
Jenzen-Jones also said many North Korean weapons have been given to terror groups by Iran, noting that "this is believed to be the primary way by which Palestinian militants have come to possess North Korean weapons."
South Korea's military came to the same conclusion.
In a background briefing with journalists Tuesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff specifically identified the F-7 as one of the North Korean weapons it believed Hamas used in the attack. The Israeli military declined to answer questions from the AP about the origin and the manufacturer of those rocket-propelled grenades, saying the ongoing war with Hamas prevented it from responding.
North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment from the AP. However, Pyongyang last week through its state-run KCNA news agency dismissed claims that Hamas used its weapons as “a groundless and false rumor” orchestrated by the United States.
Hamas propaganda videos and photos previously have shown its fighters with North Korea’s Bulsae guided anti-tank missile. Jenzen-Jones said he believed, based on imagery of the weapons wielded by Hamas fighters in the Oct. 7 attack, they also used North Korea’s Type 58 self-loading rifle, a variant of the Kalashnikov assault rifle. (AP)
“It is not a surprise to see North Korean weapons with Hamas,” commented Matt Schroeder, a senior researcher with Small Arms Survey.
#Hamas has weapons made in #NorthKorea: https://t.co/0hYq0F2a7J.
— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) October 11, 2023
Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their Oct. 7 assault on Israel, a militant video and weapons seized by Israel show, despite Pyongyang’s denials that it sells arms to the militant group. https://t.co/rkhVTRZhgI
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 19, 2023