Palestinian militant group Hamas has captured dozens of Israeli main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of tactical vehicles during the surprise attack launched by the militant group on Saturday morning.
At least five Merkava tanks and 15 tracked armored vehicles were captured at Israeli checkpoints and bases during a deadly raid by Palestinian militants.
The tracked vehicles were mostly M113-series armored personnel carriers but also was spotted one Nakpadon heavy armored personnel carrier based on the Centurion-tank chassis.
Photos posted by Hamas on social media purported to show about 10 armed vehicles captured during the assault on the border base near the town of Rafah.
In addition, a large number of armored vehicles used by the Israeli military to patrol the borderlands fell into Palestinian hands.
Palestinian groups publish videos of themselves walking around the IDF base with many armed vehicles. pic.twitter.com/QTBKRZoYBN
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 7, 2023
A large part of the military vehicles were probably in poor condition and were abandoned by the Israeli military. Hamas is most interested in light armored vehicles, which they can operate and quickly move to their territory.
This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. A lot of Israeli Soldiers were trapped due to the attack of the militants and were killed or captured.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military was calling up reservists to boost the fight against Hamas following the attack from the Gaza Strip.
He also announced a “special security situation” in a 50-mile radius from Gaza, enabling Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, to “provide civilians with safety instructions and close relevant sites.”
“The State of Israel will win this war,” he said in a separate statement.