Direct proof of use
Improvised drones appeared in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War from the first day of the conflict. CSIS described Hamas using commercial quadcopters to drop explosives on Israeli observation towers along the Gaza border, disrupting sensors, communications, and weapons systems before ground fighters crossed the barrier. The Washington Post separately reported that Hamas sought to disable detection, communications, and warning systems at multiple military posts using commercial drones armed with explosives, allowing gunmen to advance into Israeli territory with reduced resistance.
Later in the war, +972 Magazine and Local Call reported that Israeli military units in Gaza used Chinese-made Autel EVO commercial drones fitted with a grenade-drop attachment known internally as an "iron ball." The Guardian cited the +972 investigation while reporting on fundraising for IDF equipment, noting that the same type of civilian drone had allegedly been retrofitted by Israeli combat units for grenade drops in Gaza.
Sources: CSIS October 7 Data, Washington Post Border Defenses, +972 Autel Drone Investigation, Guardian IDF Drone Fundraising
October 7 drone role
The October 7 drone use was integrated with rockets, barrier breaches, ground assault teams, and other infiltration methods. CTC West Point described a first wave of small, explosive-laden commercial drones striking observation towers, cameras, sentries, and communications systems along the Gaza border; it also stated that Hamas used drones as aerial munitions platforms against tanks, armored vehicles, infantry, and civilian targets.
Perspectives on Terrorism characterized the Hamas-led attack as a combined-arms assault in which small drones struck sensitive defenses with novel drone-delivered munitions and played a central role in the attack plan. INSS similarly treated Hamas drones as an attack vanguard and emphasized that the devices were based on simple, cheap, off-the-shelf technologies, with some improvised.
Sources: CTC Drone Terrorism, ICCT Hamas Drone Attack, INSS Hamas Drones
Israeli use in Gaza
+972 and Local Call reported in July 2025, based on interviews with seven soldiers and officers who served in Gaza and reviewed unit reporting, that Israeli soldiers operated Autel EVO commercial drones manually from the ground and used grenade-drop attachments in areas the army had ordered evacuated. The report described the drones as photography-oriented commercial systems adapted for battlefield use rather than purpose-built military loitering munitions.
The Guardian's follow-up reporting did not independently prove each battlefield incident alleged by +972, but it did corroborate the equipment context by identifying donation campaigns for civilian drone models used by IDF units and by citing soldiers' accounts that units received cheap Autel drones through donations, fundraisers, and Facebook groups.
Sources: +972 Autel Drone Investigation, Guardian IDF Drone Fundraising
Operational pattern
The evidence points to improvised drones serving different roles for the two sides. Hamas-led forces used commercial drones as part of a preplanned opening assault, mainly to blind or degrade border defenses and to attack vehicles and personnel during the breach phase. Israeli units were later reported using donated or commercially acquired Autel EVO drones as low-cost ground-unit strike tools in Gaza.
The record separates those documented uses from broader possession or drone-program claims. Hamas's indigenous Zouari loitering drones and other purpose-built systems are related to the same attack ecosystem, but this page concerns the improvised or commercial-drone adaptations documented in the cited sources.
Sources: CSIS October 7 Data, CTC Drone Terrorism, +972 Autel Drone Investigation
