Direct proof of use
Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopters were used in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War by the Israel Defense Forces. Ynet interviewed the commanders of the Israeli Air Force's two Apache squadrons, identifying the 113th Squadron with AH-64D Saraf aircraft and the 190th Squadron with AH-64A Peten aircraft, and describing their scramble and armed missions during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.
The Associated Press later published battlefield imagery from southern Israel showing an Israeli Apache helicopter firing a missile toward the Gaza Strip on November 20, 2023. That photograph directly documents Apache missile fire in the Gaza theater during the war.
Sources: Ynet IAF Apache commanders, AP Israeli Apache missile fire toward Gaza
Opening-day response
Ynet's account places the available Apache force under severe time pressure on October 7. The report says four IAF attack helicopters were on standby across the country before the attack, with Gaza not prioritized for shortened standby; after rocket warnings and reports of infiltration, two helicopters were airborne from Ramat David shortly after 07:00, and additional aircraft were prepared under emergency procedures.
One 190th Squadron Apache commander told Ynet that he took off from Ramon Air Base at 08:10, was sent to Be'eri, and fired cannon rounds to support the landing of a Blackhawk carrying a Shaldag intervention team. The same report describes earlier helicopters engaging around the Re'im base after being directed toward militants at the gate, while crews faced uncertainty over identifying militants, soldiers, and civilians.
Sources: Ynet IAF Apache commanders, TWZ Apache October 7 analysis
Gaza border and fire-support role
The Apache's documented role in this conflict is armed response, force protection, and fire support rather than transfer or possession by a new operator. Israel was already an AH-64 operator before the war; the cited conflict-use evidence concerns Israeli use of the aircraft during combat around southern Israel and Gaza.
An IDF update on October 11, 2023 said Israeli Air Force aircraft, including combat helicopters and UAVs, provided an additional defensive layer for soldiers repairing the Gaza security fence and scanned the surrounding area. That official update does not identify the helicopter type, but it matches the broader pattern in the Ynet and AP evidence: attack helicopters were used around the Gaza border for protection, surveillance-linked response, and strike support.
The available public sources support specific incidents and roles, not a complete sortie count or a full munition inventory. AP's November 20 image identifies missile fire by an Israeli Apache toward Gaza; Ynet's October 7 interviews describe cannon fire and armed sorties by AH-64A and AH-64D squadrons during the first day of the war.
Sources: IDF October 11 Gaza border update, AP Israeli Apache missile fire toward Gaza, Ynet IAF Apache commanders
