Direct proof of use
The M117 750-pound unguided bomb appears in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War record through aircraft imagery and later munition documentation. On 12 October 2023, The Aviationist reported that Israeli Air Force F-16s in the Gaza campaign were shown carrying four M117 general-purpose bombs under their wings, while noting that public strike videos did not show enough detail to identify the bomb used at impact.
Business Insider reported on 16 October 2023 that Israeli Air Force posts showed fighter aircraft with unguided munitions during the Gaza bombing campaign. The article cited Michael Bohnert, an engineer and analyst at RAND, saying the pictured bomb lacked visible JDAM or Paveway guidance kits, and Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute identifying it as a 750-pound M117 dumb bomb.
Open Source Munitions Portal records compiled by ARES add later munition-level evidence. OSMP 533 and OSMP 534 document M117-series unguided air-delivered bombs in Gaza on 9 May 2024, with OSMP 533 describing a delivered, unfunctioned M117-series bomb part and OSMP 534 listing another M117-series air-delivered bomb record from Gaza on the same date.
Sources: The Aviationist IAF Aircraft in Fight Against Hamas, Business Insider IAF Unguided Bomb Photos, OSMP 533 M117 Gaza Record, OSMP 534 M117 Gaza Record
Timeline
Public M117 evidence began in the opening week of the war, as Israeli Air Force imagery circulated from the Gaza air campaign. The Aviationist tied the imagery to Operation Swords of Iron and reported F-16s carrying M117 bombs on 12 October 2023; Business Insider followed on 16 October with analyst identifications of the bombs as unguided and M117-class.
OSMP's Gaza records extend the evidence beyond aircraft loadouts. On 9 May 2024, OSMP documented two Gaza M117-series entries from a local source, both categorized as air-delivered bombs with unguided guidance and 750-pound weight class, giving the conflict record recovered-munition evidence rather than only pre-strike aircraft imagery.
Sources: The Aviationist IAF Aircraft in Fight Against Hamas, Business Insider IAF Unguided Bomb Photos, OSMP 533 M117 Gaza Record, OSMP 534 M117 Gaza Record
Operational role
In this conflict, the documented role of the M117 was Israeli air-delivered strike ordnance carried by fixed-wing aircraft. The public loadout evidence points to Israeli F-16 carriage, while OSMP records identify M117-series unguided air-to-surface bombs documented in Gaza.
The evidence separates carriage from strike attribution. Israeli Air Force imagery and outside analysis support that F-16s were armed with M117 bombs during Gaza strike operations; OSMP's Gaza records support that M117-series bombs or bomb parts were documented in Gaza. The available public sources do not identify every carrier aircraft, unit, sortie, target, or individual strike connected to each M117 record.
The M117's conflict role differs from the JDAM and SPICE records in the same campaign because the cited sources identify it as unguided. Business Insider's analysts contrasted the pictured M117-class bomb with JDAM and Paveway guided kits, and OSMP classified its M117-series entries as unguided air-delivered bombs.
Sources: Business Insider IAF Unguided Bomb Photos, OSMP 533 M117 Gaza Record, OSMP 534 M117 Gaza Record
