Direct proof of use
MATADOR use in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War is directly documented in Israeli ground operations in Gaza. Ynetnews published IDF-released footage from Khan Younis showing soldiers using a Matador missile against a Hamas gunman firing from an apartment room in the Hemed neighborhood.
Additional embedded reporting places MATADOR in the same close urban role. In Shijaiyah, Ynetnews reported Kfir Brigade soldiers preparing and launching a Matador at a building after fire was opened toward Israeli forces. A separate Ynetnews interview with a Maglan officer described using LAW and Matador missiles during a prolonged engagement in a Gaza basement fight.
Sources: Ynetnews Khan Younis Matador Footage, Ynetnews Shijaiyah Embedded Report, Ynetnews Maglan Khan Younis Battle
Timeline
The public evidence clusters around Israeli ground operations after the October 2023 opening of the war. Ynetnews's Khan Younis item reported IDF-released footage from March 2024 showing a Matador launch in the Hemed neighborhood, where Israeli forces were operating against Hamas infrastructure and gunmen.
Later reporting broadened the documented pattern. The Shijaiyah embedded account described a Matador launch at a building that had opened fire on Israeli forces, and Defence Network reported in July 2025 that IDF infantry had used MATADOR many times in Gaza urban fighting against Hamas personnel operating from buildings, including RPG and sniper threats.
Sources: Ynetnews Khan Younis Matador Footage, Ynetnews Shijaiyah Embedded Report, Defence Network Gaza Urban Fighting
Narrative
In this conflict, the documented MATADOR role is Israeli close-range infantry fire in dense urban terrain rather than anti-armor use against vehicles. The available sources describe launches at rooms, buildings, and fortified or concealed positions where Hamas fighters were firing or assessed as a nearby threat.
The role fits the MATADOR/RGW 90 family background. Dynamit Nobel Defence lists the RGW 90 HH as a 90 mm HEAT/HESH shoulder weapon with effects against armored and structural targets, while the RGW 90 ASM page describes anti-structure mousehole and blast modes for field fortifications, walls, bunkers, and reinforced-concrete walls. The Gaza-specific sources do not consistently identify the exact Israeli variant in each engagement, so the conflict record treats the evidence at the MATADOR/RGW 90 family level.
Sources: Ynetnews Khan Younis Matador Footage, Ynetnews Shijaiyah Embedded Report, Defence Network Gaza Urban Fighting, RGW90 HH, RGW90 ASM
