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Hamas Using North Korean Weapons Against Israel, South Korea Confirms
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the 5th National Meeting of Mothers in Pyongyang in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 5, 2023. Photo: KCNA via REUTERS
Hamas terrorists have been using weapons made in North Korea in their war on Israel, South Korea’s spy agency confirmed on Monday.
The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) released a photo showing a disassembled F-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher manufactured in North Korea.
“The fuse with the Korean characters is located in the mid-section of the North Korean-made F-7 rocket,” the agency told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, adding that it was “collecting and accumulating” evidence of North Korea’s suspected supply of weapons to Hamas.
“But it is currently difficult to provide such evidence due to the need to protect information sources and in consideration of diplomatic ties,” the agency added.
(LEAD) S. Korea’s spy agency confirms Hamas’ suspected use of N. Korean weapons https://t.co/k7dAojmp9z
— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) January 8, 2024
The news came after Voice of America (VOA) reported last week that Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that rules Gaza, was using North Korean weapons. In addition to the F-7 grenade launcher, Hamas propaganda videos and photos have reportedly shown its terrorists with North Korea’s Bulsae guided anti-tank missile.
The VOA report detailed a looming lawsuit brought by families of Americans killed by Hamas terrorists during their rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7 — when they killed 1,200 people (including at least 31 Americans) and kidnapped 240 others as hostages — against the North Korean regime for allegedly supplying Hamas with weapons.
The attorney for the group, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, told VOA that North Korea “knows its weapons go to Iran, and Iran gives the weapons to Hamas,” making North Korea “liable.” Iran is the main international sponsor of Hamas, providing the terror group with arms, funds, and training.
Darshan-Leitner pointed to mounting evidence, including rocket launchers discovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), that use parts from North Korea.
Asked about the report, the NIS said its “assessment is the same as the VOA report.”
Early in the Israel-Hamas war, which began with the Oct. 7 massacre, Akiva Tor, who serves as the Israeli ambassador to South Korea, charged that Hamas was using North Korean weapons. “In Gaza, as it is the one which attacks us, they use North Korean weapons. It could be that these North Korean weapons have been in Iran for quite a long time,” Tor said.
Pyongyang, which voiced support for Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack, pushed back on these claims, saying they are “groundless and false rumors to shift the blame for the Middle East crisis caused by its wrong hegemonic policy onto a third country.”
However, South Korea’s military has said that Hamas and North Korea appear to be linked in the global arms trade and that the latter could use military tactics similar to those used against Israel on Oct. 7 for a surprise attack on South Korea.
Yonhap also noted that the NIS reported during a parliamentary intelligence committee meeting in November that it obtained intelligence that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered officials to come up with measures to provide comprehensive assistance to the Palestinians.
North Korea has maintained diplomatic relations with Palestinian leaders since the 1960s.
Hamas is not the only foreign entity said to receive North Korean arms. US officials have said, for example that Russia is using weapons from North Korea in its war against Ukraine.
The post Hamas Using North Korean Weapons Against Israel, South Korea Confirms first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.
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Tens of thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge
Protesters gather to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group’s March for Humanity in Sydney, Australia August 3, 2025. Photo: AAP/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
Tens of thousands of demonstrators braved pouring rain to march across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge on Sunday calling for peace and aid deliveries in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis has been worsening.
Some of those attending the march, called by its organizers the “March for Humanity,” carried pots and pans as symbols of the hunger.
“Enough is enough,” said Doug, a man in his 60s with a shock of white hair. “When people from all over the world gather together and speak up, then evil can be overcome.”
Marchers ranged from the elderly to families with young children. Among them was Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Many carried umbrellas. Some waved Palestinian flags and chanted “We are all Palestinians.”
New South Wales police said up to 90,000 people had attended, far more than expected. The protest organizer, Palestine Action Group Sydney, said in a Facebook post as many as 300,000 people may have marched.
New South Wales police and the state’s premier last week tried to block the march from taking place on the bridge, a city landmark and transport thoroughfare, saying the route could cause safety hazards and transport disruption. The state’s Supreme Court ruled on Saturday that it could go ahead.
Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Peter McKenna said more than a thousand police were deployed and the size of the crowd had led to fears of a crush.
“No one was hurt,” he told a press conference. “But gee whiz, I wouldn’t like try and do this every Sunday at that short notice.”
Police were also present in Melbourne, where a similar protest march took place.
Diplomatic pressure ramped up on Israel in recent weeks. France and Canada have said they will recognize a Palestinian state, and Britain says it will follow suit unless Israel addresses the humanitarian crisis and reaches a ceasefire.
Israel has condemned these decisions as rewarding Hamas, the group that governs Gaza and whose attack on Israel in October 2023 began an Israeli offensive that has flattened much of the enclave. Israel has also denied pursuing a policy of starvation and accused Hamas of stealing aid.
Australia’s center-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he supports a two-state solution and Israel’s denial of aid and killing of civilians “cannot be defended or ignored,” but has not recognized a Palestinian state.
Therese Curtis, a marcher in her 80s, said she had the human right and privilege of good medical care in Australia.
“But the people in Palestine are having their hospitals bombed, they’re being denied a basic right of medical care and I’m marching specifically for that,” she said.
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UK Plans to Provide Medical Treatment for Children in Gaza
Displaced Palestinian children wait to receive free food at a tent camp, amid food shortages, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
i24 News – The United Kingdom is preparing to launch a new initiative aimed at offering urgent medical care to children from Gaza, with up to 300 expected to be transferred to the UK for specialized treatment through the National Health Service (NHS).
Each child will be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and in some cases, siblings. The Home Office will oversee biometric and security checks ahead of their arrival.
The plan is part of a broader humanitarian effort and will be formally announced in the coming weeks.
A government spokesperson said, “We are moving forward with our plans to evacuate more children in need of urgent care, including welcoming them to the UK for specialized treatment, when it is in their best interest.”
The initiative complements the work of the NGO Project Pure Hope, which has already helped three Gaza children receive private medical care in the UK. So far, about 5,000 children have been evacuated from Gaza to Egypt and Gulf states.