Israeli Apache Helicopter Hits Hamas With Chain Gun, Hellfire Missile—Video

A video circulating online appears to show an Israeli-operated Apache helicopter firing on Hamas militants after the Palestinian group launched coordinated attacks on Saturday.

A brief video clip that has surfaced on social media, and shared by open-source intelligence accounts, appears to show Israeli AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, bursts of gunfire, and Hellfire air-to-ground missiles zoning in on Hamas targets in an unspecified location.

Newsweek could not independently verify this footage, including when and where it was recorded. Israeli authorities have been contacted for comment via email.

Since Hamas militants launched a large-scale land, air and sea attack on Israel early on Saturday, unverified and inaccurate footage has cropped up on social media. Combat videos can be used as an effective propaganda tool, spreading quickly online.

The coordinated operations over the weekend marked the most serious escalation of hostilities in the region for years in what the Palestinian group termed "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood." Israel then carried out waves of air strikes under its "Operation Swords of Iron," targeting the Hamas-held Gaza Strip.

Israel has two squadrons of Apache helicopters, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies' authoritative count, The Military Balance. Hellfire missiles are one of the principal weapons systems for AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, which are also able to fire 30mm chain guns.

In May, Israeli media reports suggested the Israeli military was phasing out 24 Apache "Patan" helicopters and was likely considering a switch to upgraded Apache models. The following month, reports suggested that Israeli forces used an Apache helicopter to fire on the West Bank for the first time in decades.

Since Saturday, Israel's military has carried out air strikes against Hamas in Gaza. In an update at 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces said the Israeli military had struck 1,352 Hamas targets, with more than 4,500 rockets fired from Gaza.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 900 people in Israel and over 700 people in Gaza have been killed in the violence, according to Reuters and the Associated Press, with thousands more injured on both sides.

Hamas representatives reported continued fighting and air strikes launched at Israel on Tuesday, including at checkpoints and the southern Israeli city of Sderot, close to the border with Gaza.

"At this time, the IDF continues to attack many targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip," IDF spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said in a statement on Tuesday.