Earlier this week, Israel launched its largest raid into the Gaza Strip since Hamas attacked on Oct. 7. The Israel Defense Forces published photos of the overnight incursion, showing main battle tanks, infantry, and armored engineering units. 

Although limited in scope, the operation resulted in the deaths of many Hamas terrorists, according to Israel’s military. The raid’s purpose was to gain more comprehensive intelligence on the territory, although Hamas can always change its approach as time passes before a full-scale invasion. Israeli officials have vowed to completely eliminate Hamas from Gaza, which will only be possible with an all-out war waged from land, sea, and air. 

Introducing the Merkava 

Leading Israel’s armored corps is the Merkava MBT. For over forty years, this formidable series of tanks has been the backbone of Israel’s army. 

The Merkava was conceptualized as a means for Israel to limit its dependence on foreign manufacturers for its survival. In the mid-1970s, the Jewish state was set to embark on a joint tank-development initiative with the United Kingdom that would have provided Israel with Chieftain tanks. This effort was nixed, forcing Israel’s armored corps to look inward for land-based protection. 

The Merkava was designed with crew protection as its top priority. Thick-spaced armor and a reversed engine-transmission position were installed on the original Merkava, helping to keep personnel losses down in combat. Additionally, the Merkava’s engineers created more space in the tank’s rear, increasing storage capacity and access to enemy fire for operators. 

The atypical Merkava design is a proven asset for Israel’s armored corps. As detailed by Forbes, “A top-down strike on the front of the hull at best destroys the tank’s engine and immobilizes it. A strike on the back of the turret, on the bustle, tends to ignite the ammo stored there. But the ensuing secondary explosion occurs outside the turret, not inside, where the crew is. All that is to say, the Merkava is better-protected from top-down drone attacks than other tank types are. It’s not invulnerable, of course. But a drone strike on a Merkava is far more likely to immobilize the tank and spare the crew than it is to take out both the tank and the crew.”

Newer Merkava Powerhouses

Successive variants of the Merkava have incorporated several new technologies. Upgrades include AI multi-touch screens and the kind of advanced helmets that are often associated with fighter jet pilots. The Elbit helmets display critical battlefield information to the tank’s crew members, generating “an image that enables the crew to see through the vehicle’s armor,” according to the helmet’s manufacturer. 

Another key addition incorporated by more recent Merkava variants is the Trophy active protection system. Able to defend the tank against anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, the Trophy system can locate a threat before intercepting it, giving the tank enough time to return fire. The Trophy frees Merkava operators to act more offensively on the battlefield. 

Hamas releases video of ‘destroyed’ Merkava:

While footage of Israel’s limited raids into Gaza remain sparse, Hamas has released a clip showing an attack on a Merkava. In the roughly 60-second video, a terrorist is seen hiding in the bushes and popping out as a Merkava moves by. The terrorist is then seen firing a rocket-propelled grenade at the tank’s hull before running away. Once the RPG is fired, a bright explosion is seen. While Hamas claims this is evidence of the tank’s destruction, the explosion might have been caused by the Trophy system activating and blasting the RPG round out of the air prior to impact. 

Maya Carlin is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. 

All Images are Creative Commons.