Direct proof of use
The Badr-3 heavy rocket is documented in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War through Israeli military reporting, conflict reporting, and open-license imagery from a Palestinian Islamic Jihad outpost in northern Gaza. On November 17, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces said troops captured a PIJ post used for weapon production and removed two truckloads of weapons, including Badr-3 rocket parts, UAV parts, and PIJ intelligence materials.
The Times of Israel, reporting the same IDF operation, described troops from the Bislamach Brigade and Yahalom combat-engineering unit locating Iran-made Badr-3 rockets, drones, and other weapons at an Islamic Jihad outpost in northern Gaza. Wikimedia Commons separately hosts an IDF Spokesperson's Unit image dated November 17, 2023 showing Israeli soldiers near Badr-3 rockets at a northern Gaza outpost.
Sources: IDF weapons-production post release, Times of Israel Badr-3 recovery report, Wikimedia Badr-3 Gaza photo
Dated appearances
The central documented 2023 event is the November 17 northern Gaza raid. The IDF described the site as a post belonging to the commander of PIJ's northern region and said it was a weapon-production asset; its list of recovered items included Badr-3 rocket parts. The same release said the post was destroyed after a 12-hour operation.
Secondary reporting placed the recovered Badr-3 material in the wider category of Gaza-based militant rocket capabilities. Army Recognition reported on November 20, 2023 that the IDF had uncovered an Iranian-origin Badr-3 rocket launcher system during a targeted Gaza operation, while The Times of Israel reported that some of the Badr-3 rockets recovered in northern Gaza were taken to Israel for research.
Sources: IDF weapons-production post release, Times of Israel Badr-3 recovery report, Army Recognition Badr-3 launcher report
Battlefield role
Within this conflict record, the supported wartime role is possession and fielding of a long-range heavy rocket stock by Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups, specifically Palestinian Islamic Jihad, rather than a confirmed public record of a Badr-3 launch during the 2023 war. The IDF source supports recovery of Badr-3 parts at a PIJ weapon-production post; The Times of Israel supports recovery of Iran-made Badr-3 rockets at the same northern Gaza outpost.
The Badr-3's relevance comes from its established PIJ rocket role before the 2023 war. The Iran Primer reported that PIJ first unveiled the Badr-3 in 2019 and used it extensively during the May 2021 Israel-Palestine Crisis, including strikes on Ashkelon and Netivot. METIS identifies the Badr-3 as a large-calibre, Gazan-produced PIJ artillery rocket with a verified 13 km range and a heavy nose-fuzed warhead, while also tying the design to Iranian support for proxy manufacture.
Sources: IDF weapons-production post release, Times of Israel Badr-3 recovery report, Iran Primer Palestinian rockets, METIS Badr 3 rocket profile
