Weapons of The al-Qassam Brigades of Gaza

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam brigades is the military wing of Hamas, located in the Gaza strip. This militant group has about 15,000-20,000 fighters dedicated to fighting Israel. The weapons used by the Qassam Brigades are a mix of indigenous weapons and weapons that were smuggled into the Gaza strip. This post will examine these weapons and their capabilities.

The al-Qassam brigades primary weapon used to harass Israel are homemade rockets. Some of these rockets are small, while some are capable of reaching anywhere within Israel. These rockets are inaccurate and most of them are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome system. However, they are a thorn in Israel's side.

The Qassam rocket.

Smaller rockets prepared to fire.

Truck mounted multiple rocket launchers.

The range of some of the Qassam Bridage's rockets.

The Qassam Brigades has a variety of anti-tank weapons, both smuggled in and domestically built. The Yasin is a domestic copy of the RPG-7. It is likely not as effective as the real PG-7V rocket of the RPG-7, but the Qassam Brigades makes due and hands out these weapons to its fighters. It should be noted the the Qassam Brigades also uses the real RPG-7, which has been smuggled in by a few nations. 

Anti-tank guided missiles are also heavily used by the Qassam Brigades. This was seen most clearly during the 2014 war with the IDF. Kornets, Konkurs, Fagots, Malyutkas, Iranian Ra'ads and North Korean made Bulsea-2s make up the ATGM force in Gaza. 

The effect of these ATGMs and RPGs are limited, as the IDF Merkava tank has the Trophy Active Protection System, which is designed to intercept and destroy incoming missiles. However, the Trophy APS doesn't have a 100% interception rate, so the Qassam brigades continues to use RPGs and ATGMs against them. At least one Merkava was hit and damaged in 2014 by an RPG-29.

The Bulsea-2 is the North Korean made variant of the Soviet Fagot ATGM. It was likely smuggled from North Korea via Iran.

A Konkurs ATGM along with an RPG-29 and RPG-7s with tandem rockets.

Kornet ATGMs. The most capable ATGM the Qassam Brigades operates.

The Malyutka ATGM. These are obsolete against modern tanks and difficult to guide for the operator, but they are still effective against light armored vehicles.

The Fagot ATGM.

ATGMs ready to be deployed.

Qassam brigades RPGs are a mix or smuggled in and domestically built models. Their effectiveness against the Merkava tank is minimal. Even if the RPG hits the tank it is unlikely to destroy it due to the Merkava's thick composite armor. The Merkava's trophy APS is likely to intercept any RPG before it even hits. The only RPGs capable of destroying a Merkava is the RPG-29 or other tandem charged RPGs. Some RPG-7s have been seen using tandem charge rockets.

An RPG-7 with a North Korean made rocket.

RPG-7.

RPG-7s.

RPG-7 with tandem rockets. These are possibly capable of destroying a Merkava tank if it gets past the Trophy APS.

Tandem RPG-7s.

Apparently domestically produced tandem RPGs.

The domestically produced Yasin RPG. They are not likely capable of destroying a Merkava, but are effective against light armored vehicles and infantry.

Yasin rounds.

The RPG-29. An incredibly deadly weapon for a tank.

A rare SPG-9 recoilless rifle.

Anti-material rifles are an important infantry weapon in the Gaza Strip. The primary rifle used is the Iranian Sayyad-2, a copy of the Steyr HS.50 anti-material rifle.

Sayyad-2s.

A Chinese M99 anti-material rifle, these are used in smaller numbers.

MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems) have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip in small numbers. Most of the MANPADS are the dated Strela-2.

Strela-2 MANPADS.

The Qassam Brigades have a small number of heavy machine guns in the Gaza Strip. These are the KPV 14.5mm and DShK 12.7mm heavy machine guns.

A DShK.

A KPV.

Light machine guns are much more common, such as this PKM on a tripod mount.

Mortars are heavily used to shell cites within Israel near the Gaza Strip. Most of the mortars are 120mm Iranian made examples.

Infantry weapons are incredibly varied in the Gaza strip. Some small arms came from Libya under Gaddafi, the rest likely came from Iran and Syria. Some weapons have been captured from the IDF, such as the M4 Carbine. Libya no longer smuggles weapons, as Gaddafi was deposed in 2011, and Syria cut ties with the Qassam Brigades due to Hamas involvement in the Syrian Civil War. Iran is now the sole arms smuggler into the Gaza Strip.

An FN2000 with and under barrel grenade launcher.

An FN2000 and AK-103.

AK-103 with under barrel grenade launcher, likely from Libya.

An M4 carbine, likely captured from the IDF.

PKM light machine guns.

In conclusion, the Qassam Brigades are extremely well equipped and are highly motivated fighters. The IDF wasn't able to advance very far into the Gaza strip in the 2014 war due to heavy resistance from the Qassam Brigades. With their smuggled in and domestically produced weapons, the Qassam Brigades will put up a strong resistance against Israel for the foreseeable future.