Israeli soldiers stand atop a Merkava tank during in a military drill near the border with Lebanon in the upper Galilee region of northern Israel on 26 October 2023. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
The Israeli military said Thursday that a portion of the weapons used by Hamas in its 7 October attacks were manufactured in Iran or North Korea.
The military made the statement during an official media tour in which it displayed a variety of weapons recovered from communities in southern Israel attacked by the militants.
A range of landmines, rocket-propelled grenades, and homemade drones were part of the haul displayed.
Part of the arsenal included Iranian-made mortar rounds and North Korean RPGs.
"I think about five to 10 percent of the weapons here [were] made in Iran," said an Israeli military official, who helped oversee the clearance of munitions from areas that came under attack.
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"And 10 percent [are] North Korean. The rest of it was made inside the Gaza Strip," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Hamas is believed to rely on extensive smuggling networks to bring weapons into the besieged Gaza Strip.
The group also produces its munitions, including the rockets it has repeatedly fired at Israeli cities.
"I think the most surprising thing was the amount of weapons that they brought inside Israel," the official said.
In southern Israel, troops have taken over many of the communities attacked on 7 October including Holit, where on Thursday AFP saw a soldier manning a gun pointed towards Gaza.
Scorched homes and bullet holes were visible in the small kibbutz, not far from the Egyptian border, where at least 10 people were killed by militants, according to a volunteer with Zaka, a charity that collects bodies following Jewish practice.
Hamas's shock 7 October attacks, the worst in Israeli history, saw throngs of Hamas gunmen pour into Israel from Gaza, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 224 more, according to official tallies.
Israel has retaliated with relentless strikes that Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said have killed more than 7,000 people, also mainly civilians — a toll expected to rise substantially if Israeli troops massed near the border move into the Palestinian territory.
