Direct proof of use
AKM/AK-47-pattern rifles are directly documented in Hamas and Gaza-based armed group use during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War. An Associated Press analysis of more than 150 videos and photos from the first three months of combat identified AK-47 assault rifles from China and Russia among Hamas weapons, and cited an Israeli military official describing AK-47s as part of Hamas's smuggled off-the-shelf arsenal.
The public reporting used here generally identifies the rifles as AK-47 or Kalashnikov-pattern weapons rather than separating Soviet AKM receivers from other 7.62x39 mm Kalashnikov variants. The AKM entry is therefore treated as part of that documented AKM/AK-47-pattern rifle use, with model-specific caution where sources do not distinguish individual variants.
Sources: AP Hamas Weapons Analysis, IWM Soviet AKM Rifle
Timeline
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants crossed from Gaza into southern Israel, opening the war. AP later reported expert assessment that imagery from the attack showed Hamas fighters with a North Korean Type 58 self-loading rifle, a Kalashnikov assault rifle variant, while its January 2024 analysis placed Chinese and Russian AK-47 rifles inside Hamas's wider wartime arsenal.
On January 15, 2024, AP published its broader review of Hamas weapons in the first three months of the conflict. That review tied AK-47-pattern rifles to Hamas fighters in Gaza while also noting that public imagery and recovered weapons do not by themselves establish direct state supply by the country of manufacture.
Sources: AP Hamas Weapons Analysis, AP North Korean Weapons Report
Narrative
Within the conflict, the AKM's documented role is close-range infantry armament for Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups. AP described Hamas fighters in Gaza as typically carrying weapons they could personally bear while using hit-and-run tactics against Israel's heavier armor, artillery, helicopters, and combat aircraft.
The available public evidence separates use from supply-chain attribution. AP identified Chinese, Russian, and North Korean Kalashnikov-pattern weapons in Hamas imagery and captured battlefield material, but reported that the weapons could have been bought in regional black markets and smuggled into Gaza. The sources used here support Hamas-side battlefield use of AKM/AK-47-pattern rifles; they do not establish a confirmed count of AKM rifles, a single first AKM firing, or direct government supply by the countries where individual rifles were manufactured.
Sources: AP Hamas Weapons Analysis, AP North Korean Weapons Report
