(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The armed Palestinian Hamas group has released a video showing two of its members ambushing and destroying an Israeli Merkava tank at close range.
This act has been described as extremely courageous by the Hamas fighters, who attacked the Israeli tank from “ground zero.”
The video, which has gone viral on international social media, shows the two Hamas members fearlessly running towards the tank carrying explosives.
They placed the explosives on the Merkava main battle tank, which weighs over 60 tons, and then fled to nearby building ruins in Gaza, evading detection by the Israeli tank crew.
Seconds later, the explosives detonated, destroying the Israeli Merkava tank, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) often tout as one of the best in the world.
The fate of the Israeli tank crew remains unknown.
Defense analysts reported that the ambush took place in the city center of Rafah, located in southern Gaza.
So far, the Israeli military has not issued any statement regarding the video showing the close-range attack on the Merkava tank at an undisclosed location in Gaza.
For netizens watching the video, the incident highlights the extraordinary bravery of the two Hamas fighters.
It also demonstrates how easily Hamas fighters can approach and attack Israeli tanks and armored vehicles in urban combat situations, as seen in various parts of Gaza.
Videos released by Hamas before this also showed their fighters, armed with locally-developed Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), approaching Israeli tanks and armor from the rubble of buildings, evading detection, and then destroying the targets.
After firing their RPGs, the Palestinian fighters quickly disappear, leaving the Israeli tanks and armored vehicles burning or heavily damaged.
A few days ago, the Hebrew-language Israeli newspaper “Maariv” reported that approximately 500 Israeli military armored vehicles have been damaged by Palestinian fighters since the conflict in the Gaza Strip erupted in October last year.
The newspaper stated that several dozen of these damaged vehicles are beyond repair and have been decommissioned from the country’s military service.
The Israeli military has established two logistics centers within the Gaza Strip to repair its vehicles damaged in the conflict with Palestinian fighters, including tanks and armored vehicles.
“Maariv” also reported that the Israeli soldiers responsible for transporting these vehicles into Gaza are under significant physical and mental stress. — DSA