(NewsNation) — Israel has introduced an offensive weapon against Hamas for the first time known as the “Iron Sting,” which employs GPS and laser guidance, focusing on precision when striking its targets. 

This system involves mounting a rocket launcher on top of an armored personnel carrier, with a mortar bomb on top of that. The key advantage is that it causes minimal collateral damage, as only the area around the target is affected. 

In a 2021 press release, Elbit Systems, the weapon’s developer, described it as utilizing a “precise, laser and GPS guided mortar munition” to engage targets within crowded urban settings. This approach is designed to minimize the potential for collateral damage and to safeguard noncombatants from harm. 

“It also fulfills the IDF’s needs, adapting combat capabilities to contend with enemies hidden within civilian, urban environments, while meeting the legal and moral standards set by the State of Israel,” said former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz. 

The Israeli Defense Forces have used it to eliminate Hamas military posts that launch rockets.  

It’s a development the Israeli military has been working on for some time but has now implemented, providing it with another alternative. 

Fears of a widening war have grown as Israel struck targets in the occupied West Bank, Syria and Lebanon and traded fire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.