2023 Israel-Hamas War

DJI Phantom-Series Weaponized Quadcopter in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War

Hamas used weaponized small commercial drones, including DJI Phantom aircraft, during the October 7, 2023 attack to drop explosive munitions on Israeli observation, communications, vehicle, and border-defense targets.

Weapon profileDJI Phantom-series weaponized quadcopter
SideHamas and Gaza-based armed groupsRoleFrontline AssaultInsurgent / Guerrilla UseAsymmetric Advantage
DJI Phantom-series weaponized quadcopter, Commercial quadcopter UAV, Aircraft & UAVs - 2023 Israel-Hamas War
Image source: Wikimedia Phantom 4 Pro in flight

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Hamas used small commercial drones during the October 7 attack to drop grenades or explosive devices on tanks, border posts, communications towers, and observation targets.

Sources: Defense One Gaza Drone War, C4ISRNet Hamas Drones, INSS Hamas Drones

DJI Phantom drones were specifically identified in DroneSec-derived reporting as configured to reduce vulnerability to electronic countermeasures.

Sources: Defense One Gaza Drone War, Perspectives on Terrorism Hamas Drone Attack

The drone strikes were part of a wider combined-arms assault and were used against Israeli high-technology observation and communications towers.

Sources: Perspectives on Terrorism Hamas Drone Attack, C4ISRNet Hamas Drones

The public sources do not establish the exact number of Phantom-series aircraft used, every model variant, or a complete sortie list.

Sources: Defense One Gaza Drone War, Perspectives on Terrorism Hamas Drone Attack, INSS Hamas Drones

Timeline

DJI Phantom-series weaponized quadcopter In 2023 Israel-Hamas War

  1. Hamas-led forces use small drones in the opening assault

    Reporting on Al Qassam Brigades footage documented armed small drones releasing explosive devices against Israeli border communications and observation targets during the opening attack.

    Sources: C4ISRNet Hamas Drones, INSS Hamas Drones, Jerusalem Post Small Commercial Drones

  2. Defense One reports DJI Phantom-specific countermeasure settings

    Defense One reported DroneSec findings that Hamas used small commercial drones for grenade drops and configured DJI Phantom drones to avoid electronic countermeasures.

    Sources: Defense One Gaza Drone War

  3. Perspectives on Terrorism analyzes the October 7 drone attacks

    The article described modified small commercial drones used against Israeli observation and communications towers and cited DroneSec observations about DJI Phantom settings intended to reduce jamming risk.

    Sources: Perspectives on Terrorism Hamas Drone Attack

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

DJI Phantom-series weaponized quadcopters are documented in Hamas-side use during the opening attack of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War. Defense One reported on October 17, 2023 that Hamas had used small commercial drones to drop grenades on tanks, ambulances, border posts, and communications towers after the October 7 assault began, and that Hamas operators showed knowledge of configuring DJI Phantom drones to avoid electronic countermeasures.

A 2025 Perspectives on Terrorism article, citing DroneSec's review of October 7 drone footage, likewise described DJI Phantom small drones with settings modifications that would help prevent jamming. The same article concluded that Hamas-led forces used modified small commercial drones against Israeli observation and communications towers, pairing precision drone strikes with the wider cross-border assault.

Sources: Defense One Gaza Drone War, Perspectives on Terrorism Hamas Drone Attack

Timeline

On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led forces opened the war with rockets, cross-border attacks, and small-drone strikes. C4ISRNet reported that footage published by the Al Qassam Brigades showed armed drones attacking Israeli military targets, including a communications tower near the Gaza border fence and a machine-gun turret on an IDF observation post.

By October 26, 2023, INSS had described the drone attacks as an opening vanguard of the assault, citing images published by the Al Qassam Brigades that showed small drones carrying improvised explosive devices onto generators at communications towers and onto IDF observation posts. INSS also cited other videos showing a DJI quadcopter converted for weapons transport striking an IDF Merkava Mk 4 tank.

Sources: C4ISRNet Hamas Drones, INSS Hamas Drones

Narrative

Within this conflict, the Phantom-series quadcopter's documented role was an improvised attack UAV for Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups. The sources describe small commercial quadcopters converted to carry and release explosive munitions against Israeli border-defense infrastructure, communications nodes, observation posts, armored vehicles, and other immediate assault targets.

The available public evidence supports use of DJI Phantom drones and related small commercial quadcopters, but it does not establish a complete inventory of Phantom models, the number of aircraft used, or every sortie flown. The Phantom-specific evidence is strongest for October 7 drone footage and DroneSec-derived technical observations about DJI Phantom settings; broader reporting on small commercial drones fills in the target set and combined-arms context.

Sources: Defense One Gaza Drone War, Perspectives on Terrorism Hamas Drone Attack, C4ISRNet Hamas Drones, INSS Hamas Drones, Jerusalem Post Small Commercial Drones

Related Weapons by Role

Improvised drones, Improvised military drone class, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsImprovised dronesImprovised military drone classImprovised drones are locally modified or field-assembled uncrewed aerial systems built from commercial quadcopters, FPV airframes, agricultural-drone parts, and workshop-made payload fittings. The record tracks a distributed weapon class rather than one factory model: Islamic State, Ukrainian and Russian forces, Hamas, Israeli units in Gaza, and Myanmar armed actors all adapted small UAVs for reconnaissance, bomb drops, assault support, and low-cost strike roles.
DJI Matrice 600 weaponized quadcopter, Commercial hexacopter UAV adapted for munition drops, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsDJI Matrice 600 weaponized quadcopterCommercial hexacopter UAV adapted for munition dropsThe DJI Matrice 600 is a six-rotor commercial UAV platform designed for aerial imaging, payload carriage, and industrial work, with DJI listing a 6 kg maximum payload and retractable landing gear. Conflict reporting shows the same heavy-lift commercial airframe adapted by non-state armed groups for improvised munition drops, including PKK-linked RPG-projectile carriage and Hamas use against Israeli border surveillance towers on 7 October 2023.
Chinese commercial UAVs, Commercial multirotor UAV family, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsChinese commercial UAVsCommercial multirotor UAV familyChinese commercial UAVs are civilian quadcopter, hexacopter, and agricultural-drone families from Chinese manufacturers such as DJI and Autel that have been adapted for wartime reconnaissance and improvised strike missions. In the 2021 Myanmar Civil War, Reuters, ACLED, Fulcrum, and other reporting document resistance forces and later junta units using Chinese-made commercial drones for observation, target spotting, and grenade or bomb drops.
Drone-dropped fragmentation grenade, Improvised grenade-drop tactic using a commercial UAV, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsDrone-dropped fragmentation grenadeImprovised grenade-drop tactic using a commercial UAVDrone-dropped fragmentation grenade is a field-adapted strike method that uses commercial quadcopters or similar small UAVs to release hand grenades or comparable fragmentation charges. Reporting from Ukraine and Gaza ties the method to improvised battlefield use by multiple sides, while a 2025 U.S. Army test with a Skydio X10D, an Audible dropper, and an M67 grenade shows the same concept moving into formal experimentation.
2 more weapons
Back to DJI Phantom-series weaponized quadcopterBrowse 2023 Israel-Hamas War

Sources