IDF-released April 2024 imagery and reporting documented Hamas rocket launch posts in western Khan Younis that had been used to fire rockets toward southern Israel during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War; the photographed launcher position included a locally manufactured fourteen-tube fixed array.
Role detailsArtillery
Locally manufactured fourteen-tube rocket launcher
Also known as
- Hamas fourteen-tube rocket launcher
- Hamas multi-tube rocket launcher
- Khan Younis rocket launcher
- Gaza improvised rocket launcher
- Gaza multi-tube rocket launcher
The locally manufactured fourteen-tube rocket launcher is a Hamas improvised fixed launch array for salvo firing unguided rockets from concealed Gaza positions. IDF-released April 2024 imagery and Israeli reporting tied the Khan Younis launch posts to rockets fired toward southern Israel, while specialist reporting on Qassam rockets explains the broader use of locally built, manually aimed launch frames rather than standardized military MLRS vehicles.
Role in Conflicts
Profile / Specs
Profile
- Origin
- Gaza Strip
- Built by
- Hamas
- Type
- Improvised multi-tube rocket launcher
- Service note
- Contemporary Gaza militant rocket warfare
- Designer
- Local militant workshops
- Designed
- By 2024
- Produced
- Ongoing local manufacture by 2024
Specifications
- Launcher configuration
- Fourteen launch tubes in a locally manufactured fixed array
- Operation
- Salvo launch of unguided rockets from static prepared positions
- Mobility
- Not a self-propelled launcher; emplaced firing position
- Construction
- Improvised local manufacture rather than standardized factory MLRS vehicle
- Aiming method
- Associated Qassam-type rockets are launched from manually adjusted improvised frames
- Documented location
- Western Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, April 2024
Variants
Public sources identify these Gaza launch fixtures by configuration and emplacement rather than by a standardized model designation.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fourteen-tube fixed array | Photographed launcher configuration | The primary Commons/IDF image set documents the fourteen-tube launcher as a static launch position in western Khan Younis in April 2024. Sources: Hamas rocket launchers in Khan Younis humanitarian zone, April 2024. V, IDF Telegram Khan Younis Launchers |
| Concealed prepared launch posts | Broader Gaza launch infrastructure | IDF and Israeli reporting described three Hamas rocket launch posts embedded in western Khan Younis and other Gaza launch sites used during the war. Sources: Ynet Khan Younis Rocket Launchers, IDF Hamas Launches Rockets from Humanitarian Area |
Fired Rockets
The exact rocket loaded in the photographed fourteen-tube position is not publicly identified, but the launcher belongs to the same Gaza improvised launch infrastructure used for locally manufactured unguided rockets.
| Ammunition | Ammunition type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Improvised unguided rocket family | Specialist reporting describes Qassam rockets as crude unguided metal-tube rockets launched from mobile or improvised steel frames that are manually adjusted for area fire. Sources: Qassam Rockets and Weapon Reviews, Weapon of Terror: Development and Impact of the Qassam Rocket |
Launch Position Context
The record is centered on the photographed fourteen-tube Khan Younis array, but the same source set shows it as part of a broader Hamas launch-post pattern rather than a standardized cataloged launcher model.
| Documented item | Source-backed context | Catalog treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Fourteen-tube fixed array | Commons/IDF imagery dated April 2024 documents the photographed Khan Younis position. | Main weapon record and primary gallery subject. |
| Western Khan Younis launch posts | Ynet and IDF Telegram reporting described Hamas launch posts used to fire rockets toward southern Israel. | Conflict-use context for the 2023 Israel-Hamas War row. |
| Qassam-style launch frames | Specialist reporting describes Qassam rockets as manually aimed, unguided rockets fired from improvised frames. | Relationship context, not proof of the exact rocket loaded in the April 2024 image. |
Timeline
Locally manufactured fourteen-tube rocket launcher Key Events
Hamas introduces locally made Qassam rockets in Gaza
The Washington Institute traces Hamas's Gaza introduction of Qassam rockets to September 2001, establishing the locally manufactured rocket ecosystem that later required improvised launch frames.
Sources: Weapon of Terror: Development and Impact of the Qassam Rocket
Khan Younis rocket launch posts publicized
IDF and Israeli reporting described Hamas launch posts in western Khan Younis used to fire rockets toward southern Israel; the Commons image set used on this entry is dated to the same April 2024 incident.
Sources: Ynet Khan Younis Rocket Launchers, IDF Telegram Khan Younis Launchers, Hamas rocket launchers in Khan Younis humanitarian zone, April 2024. V
Further Khan Younis rocket launches reported
The IDF later reported rockets launched from a Khan Younis humanitarian route toward central Israel, showing the continued wartime pattern of launch infrastructure operating from concealed or civilian-adjacent areas.
Sources: IDF Hamas Launches Rockets from Humanitarian Area
Media
Locally manufactured fourteen-tube rocket launcher Images
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
The Threat of Rockets from the Gaza StripPublisher: The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center | Note: Supports background on Gaza-based organizations relying on both local rocket production and rocket-launching networks rather than standardized state artillery systems. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Hamas rocket launchers in Khan Younis humanitarian zone, April 2024. VPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the primary gallery image and documents the 2023 Israel-Hamas War launcher position used by Hamas in Khan Younis on 8 April 2024. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Hamas rocket launchers in Khan Younis humanitarian zone, April 2024. IIIPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for an additional 2023 Israel-Hamas War launcher image showing rocket launchers used by Hamas in Khan Younis on 8 April 2024. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Hamas rocket launchers in Khan Younis humanitarian zone, April 2024. IPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for an additional 2023 Israel-Hamas War launcher image showing rocket launchers used by Hamas in Khan Younis on 8 April 2024. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ynet Khan Younis Rocket LaunchersPublisher: Ynetnews | Note: Supports 2023 Israel-Hamas War direct use: reporting attributed to the IDF says Hamas rocket launch posts in western Khan Younis were used to fire rockets toward southern Israel during the war. | Accessed: 2026-06-29IDF Telegram Khan Younis LaunchersPublisher: Israel Defense Forces | Note: Official IDF Telegram archive supporting 2023 Israel-Hamas War direct use claims for Hamas rocket launchers embedded in western Khan Younis and used to fire rockets at Israel. | Accessed: 2026-06-29IDF Hamas Launches Rockets from Humanitarian AreaPublisher: Israel Defense Forces | Note: Supports background on continued Hamas rocket launches from the Khan Younis humanitarian route in August 2024; included as launch-position context rather than exact fourteen-tube identification. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Qassam Rockets and Weapon ReviewsPublisher: Lieber Institute, West Point | Note: Supports background and specifications for Qassam-style unguided rockets, including improvised steel or metal-tube construction, manual aiming, and use of improvised launch frames. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Weapon of Terror: Development and Impact of the Qassam RocketPublisher: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy | Note: Supports background on Gaza local rocket production, simple metal-shop manufacture, Qassam introduction in 2001, and range/payload evolution of locally made rockets. | Accessed: 2026-06-29