Following the initiation of widespread offensives in opposition to Israeli positions in October 7, personnel from the Palestinian Hamas militia group have used drones to strike Israeli armour and gained not less than one kill in opposition to an Israeli Merkava predominant battle tank. Footage taken by the unmanned plane exhibits a grenade being dropped on the tank and one other armoured automobile, with different footage displaying related strikes broadly concentrating on Israeli infantry. The Merkava IV and the accompanying heavy fight automobile went up in flames after the strikes. Prime assault weapons have proliferated broadly over the past 20 years, and supply a method of avoiding tanks’ thicker frontal armour, with drone dropped weapons offering a less expensive various to anti tank missiles such a the Chinese language HJ-12 and American Javelin which have the identical perform. The militia’s very restricted assets has made use of low price drones with comparatively fundamental munitions to strike expensive Israeli {hardware} key to its potential to wage struggle.
Israeli Merkava IV tanks have taken signifiant losses prior to now in clashes with the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah in 2006, which made use of Russian Kornet anti tank missiles amongst different property to take a heavy toll on advancing items. The survivability of the autos has since been improved with new protecting methods, most famously the Trophy energetic safety system which has been broadly exported to NATO member states. Though Hamas entered into hostilities with Hezbollah and its allies in Syria from 2011, when it aligned itself with Turkish and Qatari backed jihadist teams, the Palestinian militia has since renewed ties with Hezbollah and Syria permitting it to profit from a lot larger assist for its army operations. Its newest assault on Israeli positions is wholly unprecedented, and sudden contemplating its extreme army limitations, with Hamas forces having inside 24 hours brought about a whole lot of Israeli casualties and captured necessary army amenities together with munitions stockpiles and Israeli armour.
