With Merkava tanks belonging to
Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) rolling into Gaza, Hamas published a video on
November 2 showing how the militant organization is carrying out skillful
ambushes of these tanks entering the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s military chief of
staff announced his
force’s advance into Gaza City on November 2, calling it “another significant
stage in the war,” as he noted that Israeli soldiers and armored columns were
supported by punishing air power and naval backup.
However, military analysts
familiar with the region’s geography have long emphasized that to overthrow
Hamas, Israel’s military will have to battle through a densely populated urban
maze and a vast network of tunnels that Hamas uses to ambush troops. The city
is the largest in Gaza and a stronghold of Hamas, which is ruling the Strip.
One of the main concerns that
Israeli military strategists undoubtedly have for their invasion of Gaza was
vividly illustrated in a video that Hamas posted on social media.
The 84-second video featuring
the ambush appears to have been shot by a camera mounted on the helmet of the
person carrying an Israeli Merkava tank. As the video begins, a Hamas fighter
is seen hiding somewhere beneath the bushes as he waits for the Israeli tank to
come closer. The Merkava is rumbling down a sandy road east of Gaza City’s
Al-Zaytoun area.
As the tank drags close, the
Hamas fighter springs into action, plants an IED explosive adjacent to the rear
of the tank’s turret on the hull, which is made out of a rocket-propelled
grenade (RPG), dashes back to the tunnel’s entrance, and fires what Hamas
claimed to be an Al-Yassin-105 weapon. This is how insanely Hamas is ambushing
Israeli tanks, turning these iconic war machines into dead meat.
There’s a bright flare of
flames on the tank after the RPG fires. It’s unknown if the missile or the IED
explosive placed on the tank caused the explosion. At about 1 minute and 10
seconds into the video, the Hamas fighter could be seen scrambling back down
into the tunnel where his apparent makeshift hideout seems to be.
The IDF earlier said that
Israeli forces had encircled the Hamas stronghold of Gaza City and were engaged
in close-quarters combat with Hamas fighters staging hit-and-run attacks from
the tunnels.
As the ambush is completed and
the tank is successfully blown by the militants, one of the fighters from Hamas
is seen picking up a metal object, which is presumably a piece of the tank. It
was not immediately clear whether the tank had been destroyed or severely
damaged.
Shortly after the attack, Hamas
posted on Telegram that the tank was destroyed. The heavily armored Merkava’s
level of damage, if any, following this encounter remained unknown since
nothing depicting a wrecked or damaged tank appeared in the Hamas post.
The video illustrates how
vulnerable armored vehicle is when it doesn’t work in tandem with infantry
units. The fighter from Hamas managed to approach the tank without any
hindrance, thereafter sprinting back towards the tunnel entrance to discharge
an RPG blast, which has been attributed to the absence of infantry units
rolling alongside the battle tanks.
As the video went viral, it
intrigued military watchers who weren’t anticipating what they called “World
War II” tactics undertaken by Hamas to thwart a ground invasion.
The mission captured on the
video appeared to be executed smoothly since the tank crew was caught totally
unaware. Counted among the best Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) in the world, the
Merkava was claimed to have been destroyed tactfully within seconds.
The one thing about the video,
however, that caught the most attention was the fearlessness with which the
Hamas soldier completed the task. While he was ambushing one Merkava that
rolled near him, another Merkava tank pointed in his direction. That, somehow,
failed to dissuade this agile soldier.
Among the advancing troops,
there have so far been at least 19 casualties owing to the ambushes. However,
most noteworthy is the destruction of the Merkava tanks, classified as the best
in the world.
Israel’s
Merkava Tanks
The first reports of the Hamas
attack were accompanied by a video posted to social media showing an Israeli
Merkava IV tank burning after being struck by a rocket. A host of tanks were
destroyed on October 7 itself, becoming sitting ducks for Hamas, targeting
anything they find.
A video that appeared on social
media shortly after the first footage of Merkava’s being destroyed went viral
and caused a stir as it showed a drone dropping a grenade on Israel’s Merkava
tank. It was found that the strike occurred somewhere close to the border
between Israel and Gaza. You can read a detailed analysis of what went Merkava
on that one deadly day here.
In the past 40 years, only a
few countries have proven they are capable of producing their primary combat
tanks. Among these tank powers is Israel, credited with developing the Merkava
series of tanks.
A modern tank has three
characteristics: firepower, mobility, and defense. Israel, on its part, has
protection above anything else. Due to Israel’s tiny size, even minor wartime
fatalities are felt intensely, and therefore, the focus is on safety to limit
human casualties.
Using turret-mounted sensors
and explosively manufactured projectiles, the Trophy active-protection system
mounted on the tank shoots down enemy tank gun rounds, rockets, and anti-tank
guided missiles to defend the Merkava IV. The Trophy has a combat history,
having defended multiple Merkava IV tanks against anti-tank weapons from Hamas
in the Gaza Strip during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
The Merkava is the only
contemporary tank without a loader’s hatch because of the elevated risk of ATGM
penetration from any opening in the turret roof. Cook-offs are less common in
the case of a tank fire since tank rounds are stored in separate fire-proof
canisters.
Some features carried over from
the Lavi program were used to make the tank harder to target and detect by heat
sensors and radar. These included hull shaping, exterior non-reflective paints
that reduced the radar cross-section, and shielding against engine heat plumes
mixing with outside air that reduced the infrared signature.
In addition to a newly
redesigned turret, explosive reactive armor, and modular passive armor for
quicker battle damage repair, the newest tank, the Merkava IV, keeps the design
principles of the Merkava I. With eighteen more ammunition than the Merkava I,
it is equipped with a massive 120-millimeter main cannon that can fire
fifty-eight rounds, including the LAHAT-guided anti-tank missile
The
advance tanks, however, are unable to freely carry out a ground invasion of
Gaza as the leadership may have envisioned.
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