Direct proof of use
The DJI Matrice 600 is documented in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War through model-specific reporting on Hamas-led drone attacks on 7 October 2023. European Security & Defence reported that Hamas propaganda videos and IDF photos of captured Hamas equipment showed multi-rotor UAVs used to drop RPG rounds on IDF surveillance towers along the Gaza border fence, and that at least some of the systems appeared to be DJI Matrice 600 rotary-wing UAVs.
A 2025 Perspectives on Terrorism article published by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism gave a second model-specific account. It reported that Hamas-released footage of a drone-delivered strike near the Kisufim border crossing featured a DJI Matrice 600 carrying what appeared to be a modified RPG munition.
Sources: Euro-SD Hamas Battle Plan Report, Perspectives on Terrorism Drone Attack Study
Timeline
At about 6:20 a.m. on 7 October 2023, Hamas-led forces began a massed rocket, missile, mortar, drone, and possibly loitering-munition barrage as border attacks unfolded. Perspectives on Terrorism says modified commercial drones were used at some border locations to drop munitions on Israeli observation and communication towers, and that reports and video also showed modified DJI and Autel drones dropping munitions on Israeli troops and tanks early in the assault.
The Matrice 600-specific evidence falls inside that opening phase. Euro-SD tied Matrice 600 rotary-wing UAVs to RPG-round drops against surveillance towers along the Gaza border fence, while Perspectives on Terrorism identified a Matrice 600 with an apparent modified RPG munition in footage associated with a strike near Kisufim.
Sources: Euro-SD Hamas Battle Plan Report, Perspectives on Terrorism Drone Attack Study
Narrative
In this conflict, the Matrice 600 appears as a commercial heavy-lift UAV adapted into an improvised strike platform by Hamas-led forces. DJI introduced the Matrice 600 as a professional aerial platform with a 6 kg maximum payload, and the conflict reporting describes non-factory weaponization: RPG-family or modified RPG munitions dropped from multi-rotor commercial drones.
The documented Matrice 600 role was part of a wider drone-supported assault against Israeli border defenses on 7 October. Perspectives on Terrorism describes Hamas-led forces using drones for strike, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and combined-arms support; Euro-SD links Matrice 600 examples specifically to the effort to disable surveillance towers. The public model-specific sources do not identify a complete inventory, serial numbers, launch teams, or every tower or vehicle struck by Matrice 600 airframes.
Sources: DJI Matrice 600 Announcement, Euro-SD Hamas Battle Plan Report, Perspectives on Terrorism Drone Attack Study
