Hezbollah Takes Out More Israeli Tanks As Death Toll In Lebanon Soars Over 1,100 (Videos)

Illustrative image.

Hezbollah has released videos showing its fighters destroying more main battle tanks of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon, as the death toll in the country from the ongoing war rose well over 1,100.

One of the tanks, a Merkava Mk 4M, was targeted in the town of Qouzah on March 24 with a Russian-made Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). The tank’s Trophy active protection system (APS) failed and it took a direct hit from the front that caused a fire.

A second Merkava Mk 4M was targeted near Dbl lake on March 25, this time with an Iranian-made Almas ATGM. The APS was activated, but didn’t engage because the commander hatch was open. As a result, the missile struck the base of the tank’s gun, right above the driver’s cabin.

On the same day, Hezbollah fighters targeted a Namer armored personnel carrier near the town of Tayibe with a first-person view suicide quadcopter. The vehicle was hit from the side, right where some of the components of the Trophy system are installed. The APS is not designed to deal with such threats, and the vehicle was uncrewed at the time.

A Third Merkava Mk 4m was targeted near Deir Siryan with an unidentified ATGM most likely a Kornet or its Iranian copy, Dehlavieh on March 26. In this case, the APS appears to have engaged the incoming missile.

The IDF expanded its “targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon in recent days, and despite the fierce resistance of Hezbollah, it managed to advance both in the western sector, where it reached the town of al-Bayyada, and the eastern sector, where it made gains around Taybeh.

This advance didn’t come with losses, however. Two Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded and seven others were moderately hurt during clashes with Hezbollah over the night of March 27 and 28, according to the IDF.

Two officers were injured by guided missile fire during an engagement with Hezbollah fighters in one incident. One of the officers was seriously wounded and the second was moderately injured. In a separate incident, an officer was seriously wounded and six troops were moderately hurt by Hezbollah rocket fire in southern Lebanon.

Four soldiers have been killed in Israeli operations inside Lebanon since hostilities resumed when Hezbollah began firing at Israel in response to the latter’s killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Two Israeli civilians were also killed in rocket attacks from Lebanon targeting northern Israel.

In Lebanon, the death toll from the war reached 1,189 on March 28, according to the country’s health ministry, which said that over 3,427 others have been wounded so far.

Among those killed by Israeli strikes during the day were Fatima Ftouni, an Al Mayadeen TV reporter, and Ali Shoaib, a long-time Al Manar TV correspondent. The IDF accused the latter of being a member of Hezbollah’s elite Rudwan Force, and released footage from the deadly strike that took place on Jezzine highway in southern Lebanon.

Israel seems determined to continue its “targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon. The ultimate goal appears to be the Litani River, which lies 20 to 30 kilometers away from the Blue Line separating the two countries. Taking over the region will be costly for the IDF, and maintaining an occupation will be even more difficult.

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