Headline Roundup • October 19th, 2023
North Korea Suspected of Aiding Hamas Attack on Israel
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Israel has evidence that North Korea helped arm Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to multiple sources across the spectrum.
The Details: Israel reportedly found evidence that Hamas used North Korean weapons such as the F-7 rocket-propelled grenade and Type 58 self-loading rifle.
Key Quotes: "It is not a surprise to see North Korean weapons with Hamas," said Matt Schroeder, an arms researcher. Last week, North Korea called the claim that it was supplying Hamas with weapons "a groundless and false rumor."
How the Media Covered it: Outlets on all sides covered the news and continued to frame Hamas differently. Some right-rated sources covered the story more prominently. Fox News (Right bias) said "The Hamas terrorists that carried out a barbaric assault in Israel on Oct. 7 likely used North Korean weapons." Associated Press (Lean Left) said "Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their Oct. 7 assault on Israel."
Why the Difference? Read more about ideological divisions over Israel and Palestine.
Featured Coverage of this Story

AFP via VOA
Israel’s ambassador to South Korea believes North Korean weapons are being used by Palestinian militant group Hamas to attack Israel, even as Pyongyang has denied the accusations that have surfaced online as groundless.
Akiva Tor, the Israeli ambassador serving in South Korea since 2020, told VOA’s Korean Service on the phone from Seoul on Saturday that Hamas militants are using weapons manufactured by North Korea.
“In Gaza, as it is the one which attacks us, they use North Korean weapons,” said Tor. “It could be that these North Korean weapons...
Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their Oct. 7 assault on Israel, a militant video and weapons seized by Israel show, despite Pyongyang’s denials that it arms the militant group.
South Korean officials, two experts on North Korean arms and an Associated Press analysis of weapons captured on the battlefield by Israel point toward Hamas using Pyongyang’s F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles.
The evidence shines a light on the murky world of the illicit arms shipments that sanction-battered North Korea uses...
The Hamas terrorists that carried out a barbaric assault in Israel on Oct. 7 likely used North Korean weapons, analysis and various evidence including a militant video and weapons seized by Israel now show. North Korea has previously denied selling arms to the terrorist group.
One weapon at the center of the controversy, used by Hamas, is the F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles. A video of Hamas terrorists using the F-7 rocket launcher has been confirmed through analysis by two experts on North Korean arms and...
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