An image shared on X, formerly Twitter, claims to show a Washington Post article about weapons going from Ukraine to the Hamas terror group.
💥 Most of these weapons today come from Ukraine: NLAW, FGM-148 Javelin, FIM-92 Stinger and rocket systems, including those that Hamas does not have. “The underground warehouses are overcrowded,” writes Moltisanti pic.twitter.com/EaZroSIP92
— Tobfly 🕊 (@cloudflyer_th) November 3, 2023
Verdict: False
There is no evidence that the Washington Post published this article. A Washington Post spokesperson denied the claim.
Fact Check:
Social media users have been claiming to show a Washington Post article about Ukraine sending weapons to Hamas. One user wrote, “Most of these weapons today come from Ukraine: NLAW, FGM-148 Javelin, FIM-92 Stinger and rocket systems, including those that Hamas does not have. ‘The underground warehouses are overcrowded,’ writes Moltisanti.”
There is no evidence for this claim. Check Your Fact reviewed the Washington Post’s website and did not find any article matching the one in the X post. Neither is there any writer named Chris Moltisanti. Chris Moltisanti is also the name of a Sopranos character.
“The Washington Post has not published this story,” a Washington Post spokesperson told Check Your Fact in a Nov. 13 email. (RELATED: Video Claiming Showing Israeli Missile Attack On Gaza Predates The Current Conflict)
There is also no evidence that Hamas has NLAWs, Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, or FIM-92 anti-air missiles, as the post alleges. In videos and images, Hamas terrorists usually use locally produced anti-tank weapons and AK-platform rifles. They also have Soviet-era anti-air weapons.
Below are examples documented by OSINTtechnical –which is run by an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses– and Calibre Obscura, an independent arms researcher.
Hamas released footage from fighting in the Al-Shati Camp area, multiple engagements with the domestically produced PG-7VR tandem charge warhead can be seen, along with at least one IDF Trophy APS engagement. pic.twitter.com/fkBM6h5Z6l
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) November 4, 2023
#Gaza: Uncommon use of a 9K310 Igla-1 MANPADS by Hamas earlier today- the 9M313(-1) missile is clearly visible. Unusual to see the original thermal battery too.
Seems no hit, though. pic.twitter.com/6SSIg7eK1n
— Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) October 7, 2023
More al Qassam weapons found in Sufa outpost by Shayetet 13: Hungarian AMD-65 AK and other AK variants (East German, Egyptian Misr, AK-103-2, Type 56) and a possible M16/M4. #Israel pic.twitter.com/d6wb1RUXTl
— Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) October 12, 2023
Even more weaponry left behind by al Qassam, in Kibbutz Sufa: more locally made “RPG – 7VR” PG-7VR tandem HEAT projectiles, ex IDF ammo (boxes), 2x Type 80/PKM-T80, and large quantities of AKM/Type 56/AK-103-2 rifles. #Israel
Full image: https://t.co/GRFCkAfTHO pic.twitter.com/PT563rwE1w
— Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) October 12, 2023
An Associated Press analysis found that the terror group likely used weapons supplied by North Korea in its Oct. 7 attacks. A Washington Post report found that Hamas uses “Bulsae-2, a North Korean copy of the Soviet-era Fagot; the RPG-7, also originally Russian; as well as a North Korean version called the F-7” and past Hamas videos “include the Russian-style Kornet and Konkurs, as well as the Iranian Raad, which is a version of the Soviet Malyutka.”
Calibre Obscura also posted images of Hamas showcasing some of the weapons systems mentioned in 2019.
Some of the ATGM systems used by al-Qassam Brigades in #Gaza
– 9K111 Fagot
– 9M133 w/ 1P45M-1 sights.
– DPRK Bulsae-2 (9K111 Fagot copy, various changes)
– (Perhaps the Iranian clone, the RAAD) 9M14/9M14M MalyutkaNote: Some of these ATGM are produced by multiple states. pic.twitter.com/5G55GrMmIJ
— Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) March 3, 2019
Check Your Fact previously debunked claims that BBC News and Bellingcat reported Ukraine was sending weapons to Hamas. Experts told Check Your Fact at the time the claim was false.