Al-Qassam introduces Russian-made portable rocket to Gaza combat
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The Shmel RPO-A is an anti-fortification shoulder-launched rocket with an effective range of 300 meters.
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The Russian-made RPO-A Shmel rocket on display is a man-portable, single-use, rocket-assisted thermobaric weapon (Social media)
In a first, Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades announced introducing a new rocket, which entered into service in Gaza recently to confront invading Israeli forces.
The RPO-A rocket, a Russian-made anti-fortification shell known as Shmel, was used for the first time when targeting an Israeli special forces unit stationed in a house on Gaza Old Street in Jabalia, the Resistance group said.
The attack resulted in casualties among occupation soldiers, both killed and wounded.
It has a maximum range of 950 meters, with an effective range of 300 meters.
In separate statements, al-Qassam announced targeting two Israeli helicopters with surface-to-air SA-18 missiles, one in the Saftawi area north of Gaza City and the other east of Jabalia refugee camp.
Furthermore, the group said its fighters engaged with an Israeli force in Saftawi for six consecutive hours last night. Confrontations saw the Resistance using Shawaz anti-tank explosives and al-Yassin 105 shells, in addition to TGB anti-fortification shells.
The heavy fighting forced the occupation soldiers to call in a helicopter to cover the retreat of their troops.
Additionally, the Resistance group released footage documenting the targeting of Israeli soldiers and the destruction of their vehicles in al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
مشاهد من استهداف جنود الجيش الإسرائيلي وتدمير آلياته المتوغلة في حي الشجاعية شرق مدينة غزة#فلسطين #غزة
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 27, 2023
#طوفان_الأقصى pic.twitter.com/aPRD2bNk3Y
In Khan Younis, the Brigades announced targeting a tank and an armored personnel carrier APC, while also sniping at an Israeli soldier.
Israeli military gatherings east of al-Bureij in central Gaza were shelled with heavy-caliber mortar shells, al-Qassam said, adding that its fighters engaged in heavy confrontations in the area, as well as in al-Maghazi city.
On its part, al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ), released footage revealing a Sky Racing Israeli drone that its fighters downed over Gaza City.
مشاهد للطائرة الصهيونية بدون طيار من طراز "Sky Racing" -رقم 523 - التي أسقطتها سرايا القدس في سماء مدينة #غزة #فلسطين #طوفان_الأقصى pic.twitter.com/f0bvTrkqZV
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 27, 2023
The Brigades also announced striking three Israeli military vehicles with Tandem and RPG shells in al-Tuffah and Sheikh Radwan axes in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said its fighters targeted an Israeli tank with an RPG shell in the Sheikh Radwan axis north of the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, the Mujahideen Brigades, the military wing of the Mujahideen Movement, confirmed confronting advancing Israeli forces in Gaza City.
Yesterday, the occupation army stated that the number of Israeli officers and soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the invasion has reached 164, bringing the total death toll of military personnel to 489 since October 7.
![Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi during a speech in Sanaa, Yemen, August 7, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)\](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/8/7/a2ede8ef-8a7d-46a0-91a5-69a216c3ece6/1.jpg?format=webp "Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi during a speech in Sanaa, Yemen, August 7, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)\")