2023 Israel-Hamas War

Smoke hand grenades in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War

Smoke grenades were documented in Gaza during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War when AP reported Israeli troops using smoke and other crowd-control projectiles around Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites in May 2025.

Weapon profileSmoke hand grenade
SideIsraelRoleForce Protection
Smoke hand grenade, Hand-thrown smoke grenade, Infantry Weapons - 2023 Israel-Hamas War
Image source: M18 Violet Smoke Grenade

Evidence Map

ClaimEvidence typeSources
Israeli troops used smoke grenades or smoke-producing projectiles around a central Gaza aid distribution center on May 29, 2025.AP video description and witness accounts

Sources: AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report

The documented role was crowd dispersal or clearing crowds after aid supplies ran out.Witness accounts reported by AP

Sources: AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report

The incident occurred within the GHF aid-distribution system during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War.AP and Guardian reporting on GHF sites, Israeli military proximity, and aid-site disorder

Sources: AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report, Guardian Rafah Distribution Center Report

The available sources do not identify a specific smoke grenade model.Scope of the cited reporting

Sources: AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report

Timeline

Smoke hand grenade In 2023 Israel-Hamas War

  1. GHF aid distribution center loses control in Rafah

    The Guardian reported Israeli fire near a Rafah distribution center, a temporary GHF staff withdrawal during a crowd surge, and Israeli military statements about warning shots to restore control.

    Sources: Guardian Rafah Distribution Center Report

  2. AP documents smoke projectiles at a central Gaza aid site

    AP reported video of smoke bombs around a central Gaza distribution center and witness accounts that Israeli troops fired tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse crowds after aid ran out.

    Sources: AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Smoke grenades were documented in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War through Associated Press reporting from Gaza aid distribution sites on May 29, 2025. AP reported that video from central Gaza showed smoke bombs arcing through the air around a distribution center while gunfire was audible and an Israeli tank moved nearby; witnesses told AP that Israeli troops fired the projectiles to clear crowds after supplies ran out.

The same AP report separately stated that witnesses at the central Gaza center said Israeli troops fired tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse crowds when aid ran out. The reporting supports Israeli use of smoke grenades or smoke-producing projectiles in Gaza, but it does not identify a specific model such as M18 or M83.

Sources: AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report

Timeline

On May 27, 2025, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid system was already facing crowd-control failures. The Guardian reported Israeli fire near a Rafah distribution center, GHF staff falling back during a surge, Israeli military statements about warning shots, and United Nations and aid-group criticism of the new system.

On May 29, 2025, AP documented the smoke-grenade incident at a central Gaza distribution center and described similar disorder at other GHF sites. AP reported that media access to the centers was restricted, Israeli forces were positioned nearby, and armed private contractors guarded distribution points.

Sources: Guardian Rafah Distribution Center Report, AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report

Documented role in Gaza

In this conflict record, the smoke hand grenade appears as a short-range obscurant or crowd-dispersal munition used by Israeli forces around humanitarian-aid distribution sites, not as a documented battlefield signaling or assault grenade in a named tactical engagement. The direct evidence is an AP account of smoke-producing projectiles and witness descriptions of smoke grenades at a central Gaza site.

The public sources used here do not establish the exact grenade model, unit, launcher method if any, quantity fired, or whether the projectiles were hand-thrown grenades, launched smoke munitions, or another smoke-producing crowd-control item. The catalog claim is therefore limited to documented smoke-grenade or smoke-bomb use by Israeli forces in Gaza during the war.

Sources: AP Gaza Aid Distribution Sites Report, Guardian Rafah Distribution Center Report

Related Weapons by Role

Cartridge, 105 mm, Smoke, WP, M60, 105 mm white-phosphorus smoke artillery cartridge, MunitionsMunitionsCartridge, 105 mm, Smoke, WP, M60105 mm white-phosphorus smoke artillery cartridgeThe Cartridge, 105 mm, Smoke, WP, M60 is a U.S. semi-fixed 105 mm white-phosphorus smoke cartridge family for 105 mm howitzers. Army ammunition data sheets describe the M60 series as a screening round with a cast-WP projectile filler, a seven-increment M67 propelling charge, and model differences centered on burster construction and fuze compatibility. Army rigging and ordnance-identification references also list the family by DODIC C454 and C477.
M150 155 mm hexachloroethane smoke projectile, 155 mm HC smoke projectile, ArtilleryArtilleryM150 155 mm hexachloroethane smoke projectile155 mm HC smoke projectileThe M150 is an Israeli 155 mm hexachloroethane smoke projectile from Elbit Systems, built for screening, obscuration, and spotting without white phosphorus. Elbit's product sheet lists five HC smoke canisters, about three minutes of effect, and a NATO NSN, while ARES traces the design to the M483A1 carrier projectile and compares it with M825-series white-phosphorus smoke rounds. Open-source investigations identify M150 rounds in Gaza during the May 2021 escalation and the 2023 Israel-Hamas War.
Rifle grenades, Rifle-launched grenade family, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsRifle grenadesRifle-launched grenade familyRifle grenades are a broad family of grenades projected from service rifles by rod, cup, spigot, muzzle-device, bullet-trap, or shoot-through launch methods. World War I examples extended infantry grenade reach with explosive, smoke, signal, message, and emerging anti-tank payloads, while postwar HEAT designs such as the British No. 94 Energa and U.S. M31 used shaped charges for short-range anti-armor fire. The cataloged conflict record spans rifle-launched use, recovered ammunition, and modern reuse of rifle-grenade munitions as drone payloads in Myanmar and Ukraine.
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Sources