THE sheer savagery demonstrated by the evil Hamas on October 7 would not have been possible without massive amounts of weaponry.
From Russian-made AK-47s to thermobaric grenades and anti-aircraft launchers, The Sun can now reveal the terror group's deadly arsenal.
It has been three weeks since Palestinian militant group Hamas unleashed its terror on Israel and brutally murdered more than 1,400 men, women, and children.
Homemade rockets, modified AK-47s, and Soviet machine guns – cheap, new, and stolen – were among the weapons seized by Israeli military personnel after the invading terrorists were eliminated.
The more advanced weapons are likely to have been supplied by Iran, with some manufactured in North Korea.
Experts say Hamas' vast stockpile indicates the terrorist group was preparing for a large-scale attack on Israel for a long time.
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Firearms
Hamas' preferred assault weapon is a variant of the Soviet-designed 7.62mm-calibre AK-47 assault rifle.
The militants are regularly seen wielding the lethal weapons, which can be used to wipe out targets by spraying bullets at a cyclic rate.
They are easy to acquire and devastatingly effective, with some likely to be old Soviet weapons left behind during the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s.
Others could have come from China, Iraq, or Libya in the 2010s.
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The SVD "Dragunov" Grau semi-automatic 7.62mm-calibre sniper rifle – also developed in the Soviet Union – is used by the terrorists to shoot from distances of up to about 450 metres.
It is much lighter than more conventional precision rifles and loads automatically so is ideal for use by fighters on the ground.
Hamas' trucks are equipped with heavy machine guns M2 Browning HMG, which are most effective against infantry, lightly-armoured vehicles, and low-flying aircraft.
Grenades
A heroic British Israeli soldier sacrificed his life intercepting grenades launched by cruel Hamas terrorists amid the first spate of attacks.
Aner Shapiro, 22, stood in front of civilians and caught seven deadly explosives with his bare hands, throwing them back to the militants in an act of unbelievable courage.
Hamas has a number of grenades in its possession for different situations, including anti-personnel frag grenades which are usually filled with metal fragments.
Smoke grenades covered in green plastic and shaped like a wide cone contain pyrotechnic smoke and can be used to screen fighters' movements.
Incendiary grenades with hard yellow and orange plastic coverings let off light and fire to achieve the same effect.
Fearless Israeli soldier Aner tragically died when the eighth grenade exploded in his hands; he saved dozens of innocents in his selfless act of bravery.
Rockets and missiles
The terrorist group fired 5,000 rockets in the first day of its all-out assault on Israel.
It has long depended on rockets to fight its battles and has a deadly collection that has at times overwhelmed Israel's "iron-clad" $1billion Iron Dome system.
The cheap and easy-to-use 9kg RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher is a favourite among the terrorists.
Soviet made, it rests on the user's shoulder and fires a rocket out of a tube, immobilising Israeli tanks most effectively from between 200 and 700 metres away.
Thermobaric RPGs are used much the same way against tanks and buildings, the first warhead destroying the outer wall and the second damaging rooms.
Terrorists tend to use 9kg North Korean-produced F-7 shoulder-firing launchers against people.
Launched by a single operator, SA-7s are used to destroy air targets including helicopters and other aircraft at an altitude of 1,500 metres from as far away as 4.2km.
Shoulder-mounted RPG-29 systems, adopted by the Soviet Army in 1989, smash Israeli tanks with a double warhead that can penetrate reactive shielding.
They weigh 12kg and achieve their intended impact best from a distance of 500 to 800 metres.
Bombs
From an explosive breaching frame that cuts man-size holes in concrete block walls to explosive bricks, Hamas has a long list of bombs at its disposal.
It uses the breaching frame bomb, comprised of folding metal framing, to breach structures and fences, and gunpowder-stuffed garden hoses to slide into and blow up shafts, narrow spaces, gaps in fences and structure walls.
Explosive plastic bricks containing 500 grams of TNT are stuck to targets to destroy them, while thermobaric charges "cleanse" rooms of people by setting fires to enclosed spaces.
The terrorists manually attach anti-armour charges, based on RPG warheads, to weak points on Israeli tanks to blow them up.
They have access to a range of other bombs used for specific tasks, such as the Bangalore torpedo for breaching barbed wire fences and the domed frag charge for destroying people and armour.
As Hamas' main sponsor for many years, Iran has helped arm and train the group's terrorists with support to the tune of $70million (£58million) a year, according to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
There are fears the country could join the war raging between Israel and Hamas either directly or via its proxy terror groups.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a chilling message four days before Hamas' initial attack on Israel.
He said on October 3: "The Zionist regime is dying."
"The usurper regime is coming to an end.
"Today, the Palestinian youth and the anti-oppression, anti-occupation movement in Palestine is more energetic, more alive, and more prepared than ever during the past 70 or 80 years.
"God willing, the movement will achieve its goals."
Days later, 260 bodies were discovered at a music festival in Israel after the terrorists cut the power and opened fire on civilians.
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Tensions in the Middle East have soared since October 7 with the "second stage" of war commencing over the weekend in Gaza.
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