Hamas' new sniper rifle Photo: Pakistan Defense

A recently-released video from Hamas which touts what the terror group claims to be a “homemade” long-range sniper rifle – the “Ghoul” – is actually an Austrian weapon, smuggled via Iran.

“Hamas’ claim to have indigenously manufactured this rifle is totally false – from what is visible on the video, it’s clearly an Austrian Steyr HS.50 rifle,” Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at Brookings Doha Center told The Washington Post on Monday.

Lister, an expert on weaponry used in the middle east, said “While the Qassam Brigades might achieve some level of internal morale boost by claiming things like this, the blatant falsity apparent to experts suggests a level of desperation on Hamas’ part.”

The .50 caliber HS.50 has a maximum effective range of just under a mile, according to the report, which may be one of the reasons Israel has cleared a zone exceeding that range for farms and fields bordering Gaza.

The Iranian version, labeled the Sayad-2 was sold to Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards, according to Israel Defense magazine.

Watch the video of Hamas’ Izzadine Al-Qassam Brigades purporting to use the weapon against Israeli troops:

[iframe width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=fd0cc1fa7ebb” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>]