Hamas used North Korean rockets in Israel attack, evidence suggests

North Korea

Published: 12 Oct. 2023, 18:24

Hamas used North Korean rockets in Israel attack, evidence suggests

A photo of weapons confiscated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shows what appears to be a North Korean F-7 rocket, circled in red. The photo is a screen grab from the IDF's website. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Hamas militant group used North Korean rockets in its attack on Israel, according to evidence from battlegrounds in the country.

The North Korean 85-millimeter F-7, a surface-to-surface fragmentation rocket, was spotted in a video that showed a Hamas militant appearing to carry the rocket during the group’s attack last Saturday.

A military blogger who uses the handle War Noir on X, formerly known as Twitter, points this out in his post on Sunday.

“One of the members can be seen with an uncommon F-7 HE-Frag rocket, originally produced in North Korea,” reads the post.

The North Korean weapon was also confirmed in photos released by the Israel Defense Forces.

The F-7 rocket was included in the array of weapons confiscated by the IDF from Hamas on Tuesday.

Screen capture of photos posted by military blogger who uses the handle War Noir on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday, shows a Hamas militant carrying what appears to be a North Korean F-7 rocket. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“North Korean arms have previously been documented among interdicted supplies provided by Iran to militant groups, and this is believed to be the primary way in which DPRK weapons have come into the possession of Palestinian militants,” said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of the Armament Research Services intelligence consultancy, in speaking with Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.

The DPRK is the acronym of the full name of North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“North Korean arms have previously been identified in the hands of the militant factions of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among other groups,” he added.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed at least 1,200 Israelis, according to the authorities in Israel.

The Palestinian Health Ministry put the death toll of civilians at 1,055 on Wednesday.

Since the outbreak of the war following the Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday, several military experts in Korea have posed the possibility that North Korea may try to replicate Hamas’s attack in its potential invasion of the South.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) dismissed the comparison on Thursday.

“Our military is facing an enemy with a different force than Hamas,” said Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, the JCS chairman, speaking Thursday at the National Assembly’s defense committee meeting.

“We are maintaining a firm and decisive battle posture able to end any provocation or invasion by the enemy immediately,” he added, citing South Korea’s multi-layer antimissile plan.

South Korea's so-called “K-3 strategy” is designed to deter North Korea's escalating missile and nuclear weapons threats and is comprised of the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike doctrine, the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system to destroy incoming missiles and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) plan, which would target North Korea's leadership and military command.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]