Israel says it has uncovered evidence that Iran trained Hamas on how to produce and use precision-guided missiles — suggesting the terror group has significantly upgraded its weapons capabilities.
“Under Iranian guidance, Hamas operatives learned how to operate and build precision missile production components and strategic weapons,” the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.
“This is indicated by the findings of IDF troops at a weapons production site located in a 100-meter-long Hamas tunnel uncovered in Daraj Tuffah, northern Gaza.”
Photos from the weapons production site showed what the IDF said was a rocket engine and cruise missile warhead built by Hamas.
Accompanying video posted to X showed IDF troops sorting through their findings inside a home they’d recently secured, which was filled with weapons components, Hamas uniforms and even a United Nations Relief Works Agency identification card.
It remains unclear exactly what led the IDF to conclude the technology came from Iran, but Israel has previously suspected the nation of trying to supply proxy groups including Lebanon’s Hezbollah with guided missiles.
Before the newly uncovered evidence, Hamas was believed to have been equipped to use only unguided missiles, according to the Times of Israel.
The discovery was far from the first piece of evidence that Iran has been aiding Hamas in its fight against Israel, dating back to before the deadly Oct. 7 attack which left 1,200 dead in the Jewish nation.
In November, documents were discovered by Israeli forces showing Hamas military leadership had requested that Iran provide financial support to send individuals to study engineering, physics and technology development at Iranian universities, according to CNN.
“This example is another piece in an elaborate puzzle of a deep infrastructure of building, supporting, financing and training terror proxies by the Iranian regime around the globe and specifically in the Gaza strip,” an Israeli official told CNN at the time.
It is well-documented that Iran provides backing for extremist groups throughout the Middle East, with proxy organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen being known as the “Axis of Resistance.”
These groups are dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the eradication of western influence in the region.