Direct proof of use
Magnetic or sticky anti-vehicle bombs appear in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War record as close-placement explosive devices used by Hamas or Gaza-based armed groups against Israeli armored vehicles in Gaza. The clearest public examples are a Wall Street Journal account of a December 2023 sticky-bomb attack on an Israeli tank in Khan Younis and June 2025 reporting on a Puma armored combat engineering vehicle attacked in Khan Younis.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Osher, an Israeli 4th Brigade tank driver, recalled being wounded in December in Khan Younis after a Hamas fighter ran across a street and attached a sticky bomb to the tank near the driver's position while the unit was searching for a tunnel shaft.
On June 24, 2025, seven Israeli combat-engineering soldiers were killed in Khan Younis when a close-placed explosive device struck or entered their Puma armored vehicle. Associated Press and The Jerusalem Post reported that a Palestinian or Hamas attacker attached a bomb or IED to the armored vehicle. Times of Israel, citing an initial IDF probe, reported that a Hamas operative ran up to the Puma and dropped a bomb into an open hatch; Ynet later reported that Hamas footage appeared to show a Shawaz explosive thrown into the troop compartment rather than attached outside.
Sources: WSJ Hamas Gaza War Analysis, AP Gaza Bombing Report, Jerusalem Post Khan Yunis Puma Blast, Times of Israel Puma Probe, Ynet Puma Hatch Probe
Dated appearances
The December 2023 tank incident is the earliest dated sticky-bomb use identified in the public sources for this record. It was reported later by the Wall Street Journal as a first-person recollection from an Israeli tank driver wounded near the driver's position in Khan Younis.
The second major incident occurred on June 24, 2025 and was publicly reported on June 25. Reporting agreed on the setting, Khan Younis, the target, a Puma armored vehicle carrying soldiers of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, and the close-range placement of an explosive device by a Palestinian or Hamas attacker. The accounts differ on the precise placement mechanism: early reports described a bomb or IED attached to the vehicle, while later Israeli reporting described video and probe details indicating the explosive was thrown or dropped through an open hatch.
Sources: WSJ Hamas Gaza War Analysis, AP Gaza Bombing Report, Jerusalem Post Khan Yunis Puma Blast, Times of Israel Puma Probe, Ynet Puma Hatch Probe
Battlefield role
In this conflict, the weapon category covers a method rather than a standardized munition: a fighter has to bring an explosive charge directly to an armored vehicle and place, attach, or drop it against a vulnerable area. That role fits urban anti-armor ambushes in Khan Younis, where Israeli armored vehicles and combat-engineering teams operated amid buildings, tunnels, and short engagement distances.
The public sources support use by Hamas or Palestinian militants against Israeli armored vehicles, but they do not establish a single factory model or consistent attachment method across incidents. The December 2023 case is reported as a sticky bomb attached to a tank; the June 2025 Puma case is corroborated as a close-placed explosive attack but has reporting differences over whether the device was attached to the vehicle exterior or thrown into the open hatch.
Sources: WSJ Hamas Gaza War Analysis, AP Gaza Bombing Report, Jerusalem Post Khan Yunis Puma Blast, Times of Israel Puma Probe, Ynet Puma Hatch Probe
