Direct proof of use
The IWI Negev NG7 is directly documented in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War through IDF-origin imagery from November 2023. A Wikimedia Commons file sourced to an IDF Spokesperson social-media post describes an Israeli IDF commando with an IWI Negev NG7 during the Swords of Iron war on November 19, 2023.
A second Commons file, sourced to an IDF Instagram post and attributed to the IDF Spokesperson Unit, describes an IDF soldier with a Negev NG7 machine gun on November 5, 2023. The two image records support Israeli ground-force carriage and fielding of the NG7 during the war, but they do not identify a specific firefight, unit action, or firing event.
Sources: Wikimedia Commons SoI IDF Negev NG7, Wikimedia Commons Iron Swords Negev NG7
Timeline
On November 5, 2023, an IDF-origin image showed a soldier with a Negev NG7 during the Swords of Iron war. On November 19, another IDF-origin image showed an IDF commando with an IWI Negev NG7 in the same war.
On July 16, 2025, the Israel Ministry of Defense announced a roughly $20 million procurement of 7.62 mm Negev 7 and UX series machine guns for IDF ground forces. The ministry said the Negev UX had proven itself as a ground-maneuver force multiplier during the current war, providing broader official context for the Negev 7 series in Israeli infantry operations.
Sources: Wikimedia Commons Iron Swords Negev NG7, Wikimedia Commons SoI IDF Negev NG7, Israel MOD Negev Procurement Announcement
Operational role
The documented conflict role is Israeli infantry fire support. The parent NG7 is a 7.62x51 mm light machine gun; IWI lists the NG-7 with a 508 mm barrel, belt or assault-drum feed in its brochure, semi-automatic and automatic fire modes, and an approximate 600-750 round-per-minute rate of fire.
The public evidence for this conflict shows possession and fielding by Israeli troops, not Hamas or other Gaza-based armed groups. It also does not establish quantities, exact deployment locations beyond the Swords of Iron context, or a separate transfer event, because the weapon was already an Israeli-designed and IDF-associated system before the war.
Sources: IWI NEGEV NG7 Product Page, IWI Negev Brochure, Wikimedia Commons SoI IDF Negev NG7, Wikimedia Commons Iron Swords Negev NG7
