Associated Press weapons analysis identified a Bulgarian-marked rocket-propelled grenade in Hamas-held material from the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, placing Bulgarian-built RPG ammunition in the Gaza conflict while leaving the exact round model and supply route unconfirmed.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups had a Bulgarian-marked rocket-propelled grenade in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War. | Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons |
| The public report supports Bulgarian manufacture but not the exact round model or supply route. | Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons |
| The projectile belongs in the RPG-family anti-armor and small-unit guerrilla-use role package, with model-level uncertainty. | Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons |
Timeline
AP placed its weapons analysis in the war that began when Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons
AP published analysis identifying a rocket-propelled grenade with markings showing Bulgarian manufacture in Hamas-held conflict material.
Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons
Associated Press analysis of more than 150 videos and photos from the first three months of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War documented foreign-built weapons in Hamas's arsenal, including North Korean- and Bulgarian-built rocket-propelled grenades. The AP report said Royal Armouries curator Jonathan Ferguson identified a rocket-propelled grenade with markings showing it was made in Bulgaria.
The public reporting supports the presence and conflict use of a Bulgarian-marked RPG projectile by Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups. It does not identify the exact Bulgarian round model, prove that the Bulgarian government supplied the weapon, or establish the route by which the round reached Gaza.
Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons
The war context began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel. AP's January 2024 weapons analysis covered imagery from the following three months of fighting and placed the Bulgarian-marked RPG projectile within Hamas's wartime weapons mix.
By the time the AP analysis was published, its reviewed imagery showed Hamas using a mix of smuggled off-the-shelf weapons and locally made systems in urban combat in Gaza, with RPGs and anti-tank projectiles among the shoulder-fired weapons described.
Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons
The Bulgarian-marked item is best treated as RPG-family ammunition rather than a confirmed specific Arsenal or Bulgarian model. AP described Hamas fighters as carrying weapons suitable for small-unit, hit-and-run combat against Israeli forces, and separately described Hamas videos of fighters firing RPG-family anti-tank rockets at Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers.
For this catalog entry, the conflict role is therefore anti-armor and insurgent guerrilla use by Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups, with the caveat that the AP report directly identifies Bulgarian manufacture but not the exact projectile designation or a verified target hit by that Bulgarian-marked round.
Sources: AP Hamas Patchwork Weapons
