The military arsenal of Palestinian armed groups, notably Hamas and Islamic Jihad, has recently been the subject of numerous questions from the international community. Indeed, these terrorist organizations have an impressive arsenal including rockets, drones, rifles and even mines. However, for those who closely follow the news, this is not surprising. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have displayed and used these weapons in the past.
The origin of these weapons varies. Most of them are supplied by Iran, while a small part comes from Syria and North Korea. Iranian officials, including politicians and the military, have repeatedly confirmed Iran’s economic and logistical support for Hamas. For their part, Palestinian authorities have publicly expressed their gratitude to Iran for its support.
Some of these weapons are manufactured in Gaza based on Iranian models, with technical and logistical assistance from Iran. It is also important to note that some of these weapons were smuggled into Gaza through tunnels. With Gaza under siege for many years, weapons are smuggled along with other basic necessities.
Interestingly, the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad themselves confirmed the Iranian origin of these weapons. Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Nakhala said all engineers from both organizations were trained in Iran. He also pointed out that it was Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, who introduced the idea of missile production to Gaza.
For his part, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar thanked Iran for its support by providing weapons, logistics, training and technical support. According to him, without Iran, the Palestinian resistance would not exist and Arab governments would have abandoned them.
If one carefully examines the videos posted by Hamas and other military groups in Gaza, one can see that these Iranian weapons are present. Iranian-made mortars, anti-tank rockets and mines were identified in these videos, confirming their provenance.
It is therefore clear that Iran plays a vital role in supplying weapons to Palestinian armed groups. This reality must not be ignored by the international community, and measures must be taken to prevent these weapons from falling into the wrong hands and being used for acts of violence and terrorism.