According to Meshkat on November 2, 2023, the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades, targeted an Israeli Merkava Mk.4 Main Battle Tank (MBT) with a Yasin 105 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) during an attack conducted at point-blank range to the east of Al-Zaytoun, a district located in the southern part of the city of Gaza. The attacker placed an improvised explosive device (IED) on the tank before firing a rocket at it.
An analysis of the video shows three things: it is impossible to determine the extent of the damage or whether the tank was destroyed. The tank appears to be part of a convoy comprising at least two other Merkava tanks. The convoy was driving along an olive grove, unaware that a Hamas tunnel was emerging a few meters from the road.
According to the Forbes journalist David Axe on October 15, 2023, Hamas began to disseminate guidelines and strategies for exploiting the potential vulnerabilities of Merkava tanks. These guidelines include specific instructions on where to target the tank and what weapons to use. They are very reminiscent of those the Russians began to use to exploit potential vulnerabilities in the Abrams tanks used by the Ukrainians, as reported on September 25, 2023.
Their tactics involve identifying weaknesses in the tank’s design, such as the rear hatch, ammunition storage, the space between the turret and hull, and a perceived vulnerability in the armor on the front side of the hull. These identified weaknesses are common across various tank models and not exclusive to the Merkava. Hamas suggests using rockets and improvised explosive devices to target these areas, exactly what happened in this precise attack reported by Meshkat.
Hamas also seeks to neutralize the Trophy active protective system, which is integrated into some Israeli Merkava Mark IV tanks. To do this, they recommend firing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) from a close range, approximately 50 yards or closer, possibly to minimize the system’s reaction time. An alternative approach is to use an SPG-9 recoilless gun, relying on the projectile’s high speed to potentially overcome the Trophy-equipped tank. Hezbollah, for its part, prefers to rely on its Tharallah anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), which fires two rockets in less time than it takes the Trophy APS to recharge.