Direct proof of use
The clearest public documentation of SPIKE-family use in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War is Israeli Navy Spike NLOS employment against Hamas targets along the Gaza Strip coastline. IsraelDefense reported on October 12, 2023 that the Israeli Navy fired Spike NLOS maritime missiles at Hamas targets on the Gaza coast.
Army Recognition separately reported, based on IDF information from October 9, 2023, that Israeli naval forces were targeting Hamas-affiliated sites along the Gaza Strip coastline and assessed the system as Naval Spike NLOS. Rafael describes Spike NLOS as a member of the SPIKE family that can be launched from naval platforms, giving the weapon-family context for the maritime strikes without independently proving any particular Gaza engagement.
Sources: IsraelDefense Spike NLOS Gaza Coastline, Army Recognition Naval Spike NLOS Gaza, Rafael SPIKE NLOS
Timeline
On October 9, 2023, IDF-linked reporting described Israeli naval forces striking Hamas-affiliated sites on the Gaza Strip coastline. The weapon-specific identification in public defense reporting centered on Naval Spike NLOS rather than a complete Israeli release of launcher, missile count, or ship class.
On October 12, 2023, IsraelDefense published the most direct public account tying the system to the war, stating that Israeli Navy Spike NLOS maritime missiles were fired at Hamas targets along the Gaza coastline. On April 2-3, 2024, Israeli and British reporting on the World Central Kitchen convoy strike described a Hermes 450 drone firing three missiles and identified Spike missiles as a probable munition in that incident; that later case is reported as probable rather than officially confirmed missile-type evidence.
Sources: Army Recognition Naval Spike NLOS Gaza, IsraelDefense Spike NLOS Gaza Coastline, Times of Israel WCK Hermes 450 Report, The Times Spike WCK Report
Narrative
In this conflict, the public record supports Israeli use of the SPIKE family primarily as a standoff precision-strike weapon rather than as a transfer, capture, or possession case by another side. The directly documented naval use placed Spike NLOS in Israeli sea-to-shore strikes against Hamas targets on or near the Gaza coastline during the opening week of the war.
The naval reporting identifies the weapon as Spike NLOS, the long-range non-line-of-sight member of the broader SPIKE missile family. Rafael's own product description says Spike NLOS can be launched from air, land, and naval platforms and is intended for non-line-of-sight precision engagements, which matches the public descriptions of Israeli Navy standoff fires from the maritime domain.
A separate April 2024 episode is less certain as weapon-type evidence. The Times of Israel, summarizing a Haaretz report, said a Hermes 450 UAV fired three missiles at the World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza. The Times reported that a former British Army officer assessed a high likelihood that the missiles were Spike weapons after reviewing imagery. This supports a reported probable Spike use in the same war, but the record is weaker than the October 2023 naval Spike NLOS reporting because the public Israeli investigation and contemporaneous Israeli press summaries did not officially identify the missile model.
Sources: IsraelDefense Spike NLOS Gaza Coastline, Rafael SPIKE NLOS, Times of Israel WCK Hermes 450 Report, The Times Spike WCK Report
