Profile
- Type
- Improvised short-range unguided artillery rocket
- Conflict side
- Hamas
- Origin
- Gaza Strip
- Service note
- Introduced in 2001; documented in Gaza rocket arsenals through the Israel-Hamas War
Artillery
Qassam-series unguided rocket
The Qassam-series rocket is a locally produced, unguided steel-tube artillery rocket associated with Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Its short range, simple solid propellant, and crude launch arrangements make it a low-cost area-fire weapon rather than a precision system; during the Israel-Hamas War, Hamas-led forces used Qassam-series rockets within massed rocket and mortar barrages from Gaza into Israel.
- Conflict side
- Hamas
- Built in
- Palestinian territories
Service History
- In service
- 2001-present
- Used by
- Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas-led forces
- Wars
- Israel-Hamas War, Gaza-Israel conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
- Designed
- 2001
- Built in
- Palestinian territories
- Unit cost
- Reportedly low-cost improvised production; exact wartime cost not publicly confirmed
- Produced
- 2001-present
- Number built
- Unknown; locally produced in Gaza workshops
- Variants
- Qassam-1, Qassam-2, Qassam-3, Qassam-4
Specifications
- Range
- Variant-dependent; early Qassam rockets reached roughly 3-4 km, with later versions reported around 10 km or more
- Guidance
- Unguided; no terminal seeker or precision guidance
- Propulsion
- Improvised solid propellant, commonly described as sugar mixed with potassium nitrate
- Construction
- Steel or metal tube body with fixed stabilizing fins and simple launch rails or improvised launchers
- Warhead
- Improvised high-explosive warhead; payload varies by variant
Conflict Usage
- Israel-Hamas War
- Side: HamasRole: Short-range area rocket fire and saturation fires
Hamas-led forces fired Qassam-series rockets from Gaza into Israel during the October 7, 2023 opening attack, using massed indirect fire to pressure air defenses and cover cross-border assaults.
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Qassam Rockets and Weapon ReviewsPublisher: Lieber Institute, West Point | Note: Supports Israel-Hamas War direct use: Qassam rockets were used by Hamas, and supports background on the rockets as crude unguided steel or metal-tube area weapons fired by Hamas. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Drones and the Hamas-led Attack of 7 October 2023Publisher: Perspectives on Terrorism via JSTOR | Note: Supports Israel-Hamas War direct use: Qassam-series rockets were fired by Hamas-led forces in the October 7, 2023 initial barrage that covered cross-border assaults. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Detailed Findings on Attacks Carried Out on and after 7 October 2023 in IsraelPublisher: United Nations Human Rights Council | Note: Supports broader Israel-Hamas War rocket-fire context: Hamas armed wing and other Palestinian armed groups fired rockets and mortar shells from Gaza into Israel from October 7, 2023 onward. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Weapon of Terror: Development and Impact of the Qassam RocketPublisher: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy | Note: Supports background, development history, Gaza production context, and reported range evolution for Qassam rockets. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Qassam-1 Palestinian Short-Range RocketPublisher: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command OE Data Integration Network | Note: Supports baseline weapon classification and specifications for the Qassam-1 short-range rocket. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Gazan Rockets ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for a display of Qassam rockets fired from Gaza; listed as CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20