Gaza-based militant group Saraya Al-Quds has released footage showing aerial bombardment by low-end drones on Israeli Merkava IV tank.
Militant group using commercial remote-controlled aircraft, referred to as drones, to attack Israel Defense Forces armored vehicles stationed on the Gaza border.
The footage, which starts with the words ‘what the enemy has kept silent about,’ shows two different attacks, bombs are dropped from an unmanned aerial vehicle onto two Merkava IV model tanks.
In the second attack, a drone hovers over a tank. It stays static, while text in the right-hand corner of the video says ‘waiting for the soldiers to leave,’ before dropping a makeshift bomb on the tank.
Also, Aurora Intel noted that re-watching the video you can see an initial attack on a Merkava IV tank with one Israeli Soldier climbing aboard the vehicle at the time of the IED being dropped.
Re-watching the video you can see an initial attack on a #IDF Merkava IV tank with one #IDF soldier climbing aboard the vehicle at the time of the IED being dropped. #Gaza #Israel pic.twitter.com/cjiay49qU2
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) May 30, 2019
“The explosive device itself doesn’t appear like it will have a significant impact on a armored vehicle like a tank, but within blast radius of people it would do damage for sure,” Aurora Intel’s tweet read.
According to information released with the video, the attack was carried out during the last round of fighting between Palestinians and Israeli forces during the week before the Eurovision.
The weaponizing of these increasingly prevalent and cheap hobbyist drones has been warned about for years by many military experts and analysts.
The modern combat vehicles need a new system to detect and help defeat any small drones that threaten the vehicle.
Saraya Al-Quds (#PIJ) release new footage of the escalation between #Gaza factions and #Israel at the beginning of May. pic.twitter.com/EaycHy2Gor
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) May 30, 2019
