Direct proof of use
The F-16I Sufa is directly documented in Israeli use during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War. A Reuters image caption republished by RAND identifies Israeli F-16I fighter jets taking off for an airstrike mission in the Gaza Strip on October 16, 2023.
The Aviationist's early-war analysis of Israeli Air Force imagery and public releases identified the F-16I Sufa within the Israeli F-16 fleet active in the Gaza air campaign. The same analysis described F-16s as part of the combat aircraft striking targets inside the Gaza Strip after the October 7 Hamas-led attack.
Sources: RAND Operation Swords of Iron Commentary, The Aviationist IAF Aircraft in Hamas War
Timeline
On October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces announced Operation Swords of Iron after the Hamas-led attack from Gaza and said fighter jets struck targets belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. IDF campaign updates over the following days repeatedly described fighter-jet strikes on Hamas targets, military compounds, command centers, and tunnel-related sites.
By October 12, aviation-focused reporting described Israel's F-16C/D Barak and F-16I Sufa force as active in the air campaign. On October 16, Reuters imagery identified F-16I aircraft taking off for a Gaza airstrike mission, providing a dated, model-specific public record of Sufa strike use.
Sources: IDF Real-Time Israel War Updates, The Aviationist IAF Aircraft in Hamas War, RAND Operation Swords of Iron Commentary
Narrative
In this conflict, the F-16I's documented role was Israeli air-to-ground strike support rather than transfer, capture, or possession by another side. Public sources place the Sufa within Israel's fixed-wing strike force over Gaza, with the most direct model-specific evidence showing F-16I jets departing for an airstrike mission on October 16.
The Aviationist reported that Israeli F-16s were flying heavier strike configurations than the F-15s visible in the same early-war imagery, typically carrying multiple GBU-31-class JDAM bombs, a centerline fuel tank, and up to two air-to-air missiles; it also noted that GBU-54 Laser JDAM configurations had been employed and that images showed F-16s carrying M117 bombs. That reporting supports the Sufa's place in the broader F-16 strike force, while the public sources do not provide a complete sortie-by-sortie breakdown for F-16I aircraft.
Business Insider later summarized Israel's Gaza air war as relying on U.S.-built F-15, F-35, and F-16 fighters and specifically identified the F-16I Sufa as an Israeli-modified F-16 variant used in that campaign. Together with the Reuters/RAND caption and early aviation analysis, the public record supports an Israeli strike-aircraft role for the F-16I Sufa in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War.
Sources: The Aviationist IAF Aircraft in Hamas War, Business Insider Gaza Fighter Jets, RAND Operation Swords of Iron Commentary
