The al-Bana ( ar, البنا) rocket launcher is a weapon developed by

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB

under the direction of

Adnan al-Ghoul Adnan Al-Ghoul (c. 1962 – 21 October 2004) ( ar, عدنان الغول ) was the assistant of Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He was killed in a targeted killing along with Imad Abbas ...

and

Mohammed Deif Mohammed Deif ( ar, محمّد ضيف ; born 1965 in Khan Younis), born Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, is a Palestinian chief of staff and supreme military commander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He has been Isra ...

. Made from raw material and equipment smuggled into the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

using tunnels in

Rafah Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palestini ...

, the al-Bana was the first example, during the

Al-Aqsa Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel ...

, of Hamas' engineers capacity to produce relatively sophisticated weapons. It was to launch

Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched thousands of rocket and Mortar (weapon), mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Arab–Israeli conflict. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, ...

. The shoulder-fired al-Bana was extensively used during

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

incursions to fight against tanks and armored vehicles. The al-Bana was replaced, in 2003, by the more elaborated

Batar The Batar ( ar, البتار) rocket launcher is a weapon developed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. The weapon was reportedly created and produced in clandes ...

and is no longer used by Hamas. Slightly modified versions of the al-Bana were made and used by other Palestinian militant groups. In 2004, Hamas engineers provided the group with a new and sophisticated shoulder-fired rocket launcher, the Yasin.

References

{{reflist Anti-tank rockets of Palestine Hamas Palestinian inventions Homemade firearms Insurgency weapons

See also

References