2023 Israel-Hamas War

Locally manufactured mortar projectile in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War

Hamas-linked weapons-production sites in central Gaza were documented making mortar shells during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, but public sources did not identify the caliber, fuze, filling, or standardized projectile model.

Weapon profileLocally manufactured mortar projectile
SideHamas and Gaza-based armed groupsRoleFire SupportAsymmetric Advantage
Locally manufactured mortar projectile, Mortar projectile, Munitions - 2023 Israel-Hamas War
Image source: Wikimedia 81mm mortar rounds

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Hamas weapons-production sites in central Gaza included facilities for mortar shells during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War.

Sources: AP Bureij weapons-production site, IDF Nuseirat mortar-shell compound

The Bureij site was described as connected to tunnels used to move weapons to Hamas units across Gaza.

Sources: AP Bureij weapons-production site

A reporter account from the Bureij media tour described lathes and heavy machinery used to build rockets and other munitions, including mortars and explosive devices.

Sources: Times of Israel Bureij media tour

Public sources did not identify the locally manufactured mortar shells' caliber, fuze, filling, or standardized model.

Sources: AP Bureij weapons-production site, IDF Nuseirat mortar-shell compound, IDF central Gaza weapons industry

Timeline

Locally manufactured mortar projectile In 2023 Israel-Hamas War

  1. Bureij production site reported

    AP reported the Israeli military's statement that a large Hamas weapons-production site in Bureij included production facilities for mortar shells, rockets, explosives, and drones.

    Sources: AP Bureij weapons-production site

  2. Reporter tour describes mortars among other munitions

    Times of Israel reporting from the same central-Gaza media tour said a warehouse with lathes and heavy machinery was used by Hamas to build long-range rockets and other munitions, including mortars and explosive devices.

    Sources: Times of Israel Bureij media tour

  3. Nuseirat compound described as mortar-shell manufacturing site

    The IDF said forces in Nuseirat Camp located a compound used for manufacturing mortar shells, alongside a rocket-production factory and weapons hidden in a humanitarian-organization building.

    Sources: IDF Nuseirat mortar-shell compound

  4. Central-Gaza weapons industry destroyed, according to IDF

    The IDF said the 36th Division and specialist units exposed and destroyed central-Gaza weapons factories and lathes used to produce ammunition and weapons for Hamas operatives.

    Sources: IDF central Gaza weapons industry

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The documented conflict use is wartime local production and fielding context, not a publicly identified standardized mortar round. On January 8, 2024, AP reported that the Israeli military said it had found a large Hamas weapons-production site in Bureij, central Gaza, with production facilities for long-range rockets, mortar shells, explosives, and drones. AP also reported the military's statement that tunnels at the site allowed Hamas to move weapons to units across the Gaza Strip.

The IDF separately said on January 15, 2024 that forces from the 646th Brigade operating in Nuseirat Camp located a compound used for manufacturing mortar shells, a rocket-production factory, and weapons hidden in a humanitarian-organization building.

Sources: AP Bureij weapons-production site, IDF Nuseirat mortar-shell compound

Timeline

Publicly available reporting places the clearest documented appearances in January 2024, during Israeli operations in central Gaza. The January 8 Bureij report described mortar-shell production as part of a larger Hamas weapons industry, while the January 15 Nuseirat release described a separate compound used for manufacturing mortar shells.

A January 18 IDF release added that Israeli forces had exposed and destroyed weapons factories and lathes near Salah al-Din Road that were used to produce ammunition and weapons for Hamas operatives. That release supports the broader central-Gaza production context but did not separately identify mortar-shell specifications.

Sources: AP Bureij weapons-production site, IDF Nuseirat mortar-shell compound, IDF central Gaza weapons industry

Narrative

The local mortar-projectile entry covers Gaza-made mortar shells as a documented production category rather than a named ammunition family. In the public record, the shells appear alongside rockets, explosives, drones, lathes, tunnel links, and other production infrastructure attributed to Hamas in central Gaza.

The sources support Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups as the relevant side because the facilities were described as Hamas weapons-production sites or compounds used to produce weapons for Hamas operatives. They do not prove a particular caliber, fuze, explosive filling, production authority, factory serial system, or individual firing incident for the locally manufactured shells.

Sources: AP Bureij weapons-production site, IDF central Gaza weapons industry, Times of Israel Bureij media tour

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Sources