Direct proof of use
The M339 is documented in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War through open-source munition records and strike investigations in Gaza. OSMP 1214 records a March 19, 2025 delivered and functioned 120 mm tank-gun projectile fragment in Deir al-Balah with the tentative model M339, and its analyst note says the remnants distinguish the projectile from other Israeli tank-projectile models.
The Deir al-Balah record is tied to the strike on a United Nations compound. The UN said the March 19 strikes hitting its compound were caused by an Israeli tank, and the Times of Israel later reported that the IDF acknowledged an Israeli tank fired a shell at the UN guesthouse after initially denying involvement.
Sources: OSMP 1214 Deir al-Balah M339 Entry, UN Deir al-Balah Compound Note, Times of Israel UN Guesthouse Tank Fire
Timeline
On October 13 and October 16, 2023, OSMP catalogued whole, unfunctioned M339 projectiles in Israel. Those records support theater presence in the opening phase of the war, but because the entries are marked undelivered and unfunctioned, they do not by themselves prove a fired strike.
On March 19, 2025, after the Gaza ceasefire collapsed, a UN compound in Deir al-Balah was hit by Israeli tank fire. OSMP 1214 identified the documented 120 mm tank-projectile fragment as M339, while the UN and later Israeli reporting supported the tank-fire context.
On August 25, 2025, OSMP 1650 recorded delivered and functioned 120 mm Israeli tank-projectile remnants at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. OSMP assessed the contextual evidence as most likely M339 high-explosive multipurpose projectiles, while AP reporting found that Israeli tank shells were fired in the strike and that fragments were consistent with Israeli fin-stabilized tank-gun projectiles.
Sources: OSMP 1577 Israel M339 Entry, OSMP 1575 Israel M339 Entry, OSMP 1214 Deir al-Balah M339 Entry, UN Deir al-Balah Compound Note, OSMP 1650 Nasser Hospital M339 Assessment, AP Nasser Hospital Tank-Fire Investigation
Documented role
In Gaza, the M339 evidence places the round in Israeli-side tank direct-fire use rather than in a transfer-only context. The projectile is an unguided 120 mm surface-to-surface tank-gun munition, and OSMP's Israel and Gaza 2023-2026 collection lists M339 among the models documented from Israel and the Gaza Strip from October 2023 onward.
The strongest model-specific fired-use evidence is incident-based. At Deir al-Balah, OSMP recorded a functioned M339 fragment and cited external reporting that munitions specialists found the fragments consistent with Israeli M339 tank-projectile remnants. At Nasser Hospital, OSMP assessed multiple tank-projectile remnants as most likely M339 high-explosive multipurpose projectiles, while AP and Times of Israel reporting separately described Israeli tank fire in that hospital strike.
The public record reviewed here supports a narrow conflict-use entry: Israeli forces fielded M339 or M339-family 120 mm tank projectiles during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, with documented fired fragments in Gaza in 2025. It does not establish round counts, the tank crews involved, or a complete list of M339 firing incidents.
Sources: OSMP Israel and Gaza Collection, OSMP 1214 Deir al-Balah M339 Entry, OSMP 1650 Nasser Hospital M339 Assessment, AP Nasser Hospital Tank-Fire Investigation, Times of Israel Nasser Hospital Tank Fire
