On the night of 11 November, 2018 the prestige of the Israeli elite force, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit “Sayeret Matkal” was damaged by the Palestinian fighters of the “Al-Qassam Brigades” and the consequences of the operation led to the resignation of notable members of the Israeli government. The Israelis believed that Sayeret Matkal using the latest modern technological means, they could breach the security and military system of the Qassam Brigades, but apparently they failed.
Hamas
Project: Qasd Al-Sabeel – Recovering Munitions In Gaza
In 2020 Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, revealed for the first time that part of the efforts it is making to develop its military capabilities to face the plans to disarm the Palestinian armed factions along with the blockade of weapons and ammunition into Gaza Strip include salvaging unexploded Israeli munitions and scouring the wrecks of a pair of World War One warships.
Underground Military Production In Gaza – Part 2
In the first article of this series on Palestinian underground weapons manufacturing, we reviewed some of the weaponry made locally by Hamas including pistols, submachine guns and anti-tank rifles. In this article, we will continue to explore more of their production capabilities. Check out part one of this series here.
Underground Military Production In Gaza – Part 1
From 1948 to the present time, many battles had taken place in the Middle East as part of the Arab-Israeli conflict, some countries have been relying on external sources to supply them with weapons needed for fighting, but historically it has not only been official governments which have clashed with Israel. There are also some political parties and militias which couldn’t simply import weapons officially from a foreign source so they have to resort to plan B – making their own tools of war themselves. In this article we will take a look at one of the main players in the Middle East conflict; the HAMAS movement and its military wing the Ezz el-Din al-Qassam brigades, who operate in Gaza-Palestine.
Tactical Analysis: The Al-Maleka Operation’s Mistakes
On 29 November 2004, two militants from the Gaza Strip performed a suicidal raid (a martyrdom operation from the Palestinian point of view since the attackers knew its was a one-way trip) against an Israeli military site called Al-Malaka (Al-Maleka) inside the strip. This operation took place in 2004 before the former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon decided to unilaterally withdraw his troops and dismantle Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip in 2005. In this article, we will discuss the operation step by step from a tactical perspective
Tactical Analysis: How Hamas Captured an IDF Tavor X95 From the Nahal Oz Pillbox
During Israeli military campaign against Gaza in 2014, Hamas and its military wing, the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam brigades, released a video showing a group of their fighters from the وحدة الأنفاق ‘Tunnel Unit’ raiding an Israeli Army’s pillbox in the Nahal Oz area east of the Gaza strip. Footage from the operation was broadcasted on Al-Aqsa TV (a Palestinian television broadcasting station), which was a smart propaganda move to contribute to the psychological war against the Israelis and raise the morale of the Palestinians. The entire operation was captured on video, although some segments were edited to hide operational techniques. Hamas fighters also displayed the Tavor X95 5.56x45mm rifle captured from an Israeli soldier – the topic of this article. We will examine the footage and analyse the tactics used by the fighters who carried out the raid and captured the rifle.
(Palestinian Yassin RPG) السلاح الفلسطيني قاذف الصواريخ ياسين
This is an article translated into Arabic about the locally produced Yassin RPG in use by Hamas in the Gaza strip. The English version can be accessed here.
بسبب الحروب العربية الاسرائيلية, اهتم الجناح العسكري لمنظمة “حماس” الا وهي “الوية عز الدين القسام” , بالتصنيع العسكري حتى تحصل على اكتفاء ذاتي لتقلل فعالية و تاثير الحظر الاقتصادي التي تفرضها اسرائيل على “غزة” من حين لاخر.
هذه المقالة تسلط الاضواء على احد الصناعات العسكرية المثيرة للانتباه وهي صناعة قواذف الصواريخ من نوع “ياسين” في غزة في منشئات انتاجية تحت الارض حتى لا يتم استهدافها من قبل سلاح الطياران و المدافع الاسرائيلية. هذا القاذف تم تصميمه و تصنيعه من قبل “حماس” و يتم توزيعه الى حركات مقاومة اخرى من ضمنها “فتح” و “الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين”.
تاريخ السلاح
يحمل القاذف اسم القائد الروحي و مؤسس حركة حماس الشيخ “احمد ياسين” الذي اغتيل عن طريق صاروخ من نوع “هيل فاير” من هيليكوبتر اسرائيلية نوع “اباتشي” في الثاني و العشرين من مارس سنة 2004 وهو في عمر السابعة والستون.
مصمم السلاح هو المهندس “عدنان الغول” والذي قتل ايضا في نفس السنة في الواحد وعشرون من شهر اكتوبر عن طريق غارة جوية اسرائيلية.
موصافات السلاح
تصميم القاذف “ياسين” فريد من نوعه ولكن يشبه كثيرا القاذف الروسي القديم “ار بي جي-2” مع بعض مواصفات القاذف الاحدث “ار بي جي-7”. اخذ السلاح تصميم الانبوب و شكل الخارجي للصاروخ من “ار بي جي-2” وايضا محرك الصاروخ , وتعتبر تصاميمها بسيطة للغاية ولكن لتحسين الاداء اضافوا تصميم “ار بي جي-7” للفوهة الخلفية التي تعكس الارتداد عند اطلاق الصاروخ. واضافوا ايضا معزز صاروخي للذخيرة لزيادة مدى السلاح و طوروا من الشكل الداخلي للراس المتفجر للصاروخ.
مع انه يتم تصنيع السلاح في ورش تحت الارض باستخدام ادوات عادية وفي متناول المدنيين , ولكن تصميم وابتاكر “الياسين” وجودة التصنيع يدل على مستوى عالي من الاحترافية و التطور مع ان تصميم السلاح يتعبر من ناحية التقنية بسيط للغاية.
ياسين” في ساحة القتال”
يعتبر السلاح غير فعال ضد المركبات المدرعة لان اسرائيل في تطوير دائم و تحسين لها , ولكن “كتائب صلاح الدين” و يعتبر الذراع العسكري لمنظمة “اللجنة الشعبية للمقاومة في غزة” زعموا تدمير دبابة اسرائيلية من نوع “ميركافا مارك 3” عن طريق استهداف نقطة ضعف فيها.
مع ذلك, يعتبر السلاح فعال ضد الحصون المصنوعة من طوب و الاهداف التي تمتلك تدريع خفيف كسيارات “الهامفي” الاسرائيلية لانها تستطيع اختراق فولاذ بسماكة 21سم على بعد 150 متر.
التقاصيل
النوع : قاذف صاروخ (ار بي جي) ” ياسين”
المصمم: عدنان الغول
دور السلاح: مضاد للدبابات, تحصينات و الافراد
مكان التصنيع: غزة , فلسطين
فترة الخدمة : 2004- الى الان
الوزن: 7 كيلوجرم – 15 باوند
الطول: 95سم- 37″ انش
العيار: 40مم محرك الصاروخ و 85مم للراس المتفجر
سرعة الفوهة: 295 متر/ث
المدى الفعال: 300 متر
اداة التصويب: مسددات
Yassin RPG – The Underground RPG of Gaza
Due to the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine, Hamas with its military wing al-Qassam brigades has developed their own tools of war in order to preserve self-sufficiency in order to not be affected by the blockade made on Gaza strip.
This article will spotlight on one of the more interesting craft produced rocket launchers in Gaza , which is literally underground since their production facilities are protected in underground bunkers from IDF air raids and artillery strikes.
It is designed and manufactured by Hamas, but they distribute the launchers to other resistance troops working in Gaza, including Fatah and the PFLP (Popular Front for Liberating Palestine).
History
The weapon is named after Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and the spiritual leader of Hamas who was assassinated by Hellfire missiles shot from an Israeli AH-64 Apache Helicopter gunship on March 22, 2004, at the age of 67.
It was designed by Adnan al-Ghoul who was also assassinated by an Israeli air strike on October 21st, 2004.
Characteristics
The Yassin RPG is a unique design that resembles the RPG-2 combined with RPG-7 with some improvised design features, From RPG-2 it took the launching tube design and the warhead external shape and the rocket motor which are very simple, but to improve the performance they added some features from the RPG-7 such as the nozzle at the launcher’s rear to deflect recoil generated by launching the rocket, they also added a rocket booster to be attached to the propelled grenade to extend it’s range, and the internal shaped charge of the warhead is enhanced as well.
The manufacturing process occurs in underground workshops using ordinary shop tools, but the conception and engineering of the weapon seem to have a high degree of sophistication and professionalism given the lack of technology of the design.
In Action
According to the continuous improvements of armor in Israeli armored vehicles, the RPG is believed to be not effective against them. However, Saladin brigades (the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committee in Gaza) claimed to destroy a Merkava Mk.3 MBT by targeting a weak point of the tank. Yet, the weapon is very effective against brick fortifications and soft-skinned armor as it can penetrate a 21 cm steel plate from 150 meters.
Specifications
Model : Yassin RPG
Designer : Adnan al-Ghoul
Type : Anti-Tank, Anti-Personnel
Place of Origin : Gaza, Palestine
Manufacturer: al-Qassam brigades, R&D unit
In Service: 2004 – Current
Weight : 7 kg (15 lbs)
Length : 95 cm (37″)
Caliber: 40 mm rocket engine ; 85 mm warhead
Muzzle velocity: 295 m/s
Effective range: 300 m
Sights: Iron sights
