Watan-A state of controversy has arisen in Israel due to the use of a particular weapon by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, in ground confrontations in the Gaza Strip.
The controversy and questions arose after the announcement by the Qassam Brigades that their fighters had successfully sniped an Israeli soldier with a heavy-caliber “M99” sniper rifle in the Sheikh Ajleen area of Gaza City.
This marked the first time that the use of this weapon by the Qassam Brigades was publicly disclosed in the battles in the Gaza Strip.
According to the “Gun Wiki” website, the M99 rifle was developed in response to a request from the People’s Liberation Army of China. It is an anti-material rifle firing heavy-caliber 12.7×108mm rounds.
The site added that the M99 rifle is capable of eliminating a target at a distance of 1600 meters within two seconds, meaning before the sound reaches the target location in 2.7 seconds.
The Qassam Brigades are using standard Chinese weapons
In conjunction with the announcement by the Qassam Brigades, Israeli media reported that the leadership of the Israeli army provided the political level with information about the use of standard Chinese weapons by the Qassam Brigades.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Israeli army had seized quantities of Chinese weapons in the Gaza Strip, according to its claims.
The channel conveyed that questions are circulating in security circles about how these weapons from China reached the Gaza Strip.
The Qassam Brigades had announced on Saturday evening the execution of several operations against Israeli forces infiltrating various combat zones. One of the prominent operations involved ambushing an Israeli force and targeting 8 tanks east of Gaza City.
The Qassam Brigades stated that they inflicted casualties on the targeted Israeli soldiers, including “killed and wounded.” They added, “We ambushed an infantry force inside a building in the Tuffah neighborhood (east of Gaza City), and we brought down its members, resulting in both killed and wounded.”
They further mentioned that their fighters targeted 8 Zionist tanks with Yassin 105 shells in the Tuffah and Daraaj neighborhoods, east of Gaza City.