Direct proof of use
The R-160 appears in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War record through dated claims by Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades and reporting on long-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward the Haifa area. Al-Quds reported on October 11, 2023 that Al-Qassam announced it had struck Haifa with an R-160 missile, describing the weapon as locally made and giving its stated range as 160 km.
A second Haifa-area R-160 claim followed on October 25, 2023. The Times of Israel reported that the IDF said one long-range rocket had been launched from Gaza toward towns south of Haifa and exploded in mid-air, with Hamas claiming responsibility and saying it had launched an R-160. TPS likewise reported that the IDF confirmed a long-range missile had set off sirens south of Haifa, that the projectile exploded mid-air, and that Hamas claimed an R-160 launch.
Sources: Al-Quds R-160 Haifa Claim, Times of Israel October 25 Haifa Rocket, TPS October 25 R-160 Report
Timeline
The first documented 2023 R-160 claim in this record came on October 11, four days after the Hamas-led attack that opened the war. Al-Quds said Al-Qassam announced a strike on Haifa, about 150 km from the Gaza Strip, and identified the weapon as R-160.
Further public reporting placed later R-160 claims in the same month. Reuters, carried by The Jerusalem Post, reported that Qassam Brigades said it shelled Haifa with an R-160 rocket on October 17. On October 25, Israeli and local reporting again described a Gaza-launched long-range rocket toward the Haifa/Carmel area and a Hamas R-160 claim.
Sources: Al-Quds R-160 Haifa Claim, Jerusalem Post Reuters R-160 Haifa, Times of Israel October 25 Haifa Rocket, TPS October 25 R-160 Report
Operational role
In this conflict, the documented R-160 role was long-range rocket fire by Hamas and Gaza-based armed groups against northern Israeli population areas well beyond the immediate Gaza border. The source-backed use claims do not establish a full launch count, impact pattern, or battle-damage assessment for the R-160; they establish claimed launches and, for October 25, Israeli reporting that a long-range projectile from Gaza triggered sirens south of Haifa and exploded in mid-air.
The R-160 designation sits within the same long-range rocket context as the Syrian-made 302 mm Khaibar-1/M-302 family. CSIS describes the Khaibar-1/M-302/B-302 branch as a Syrian-developed 302 mm unguided artillery rocket with roughly 100 km range in the Khaibar-1 description, while IDF material on the 2014 Klos-C interception describes M-302 rockets as Syrian-made ground-to-ground rockets improved to longer ranges. VOA's November 2023 war explainer separately said Hamas possessed more advanced rockets including the Syrian-made Khaibar-1, with ranges up to 150 km.
Those lineage and arsenal sources are background for interpreting the R160/M-302 catalog entry. The direct 2023 conflict-use claim remains narrower: Hamas's armed wing publicly claimed R-160 fire toward Haifa, and Israeli/press accounts documented long-range Gaza-launched rockets toward the Haifa/Carmel area during the opening month of the war.
Sources: Times of Israel October 25 Haifa Rocket, TPS October 25 R-160 Report, CSIS Hezbollah Rocket Arsenal, IDF Operation Full Disclosure, VOA Hamas Arsenal Background
