Israel’s Rare Merkava IV Barak ‘Supertank’ Destroyed in Gaza – 75 Percent of Crew Killed

<p >Palestinian paramilitary groups in the Gaza Strip have destroyed an Israeli Army Merkava IV Barak main battle tank, with footage published on the internet confirming the successful kill. Three of the tank’s four crew were killed in the attack. The new Merkava IV variant boasted advanced defensive systems including an enhanced variant of the Trophy active protection system designed to counter anti-tank missiles, as well as greater use of artificial intelligence, and improved survivability systems and a fighter plane style helmet mounted display for the commander to make better use of new sensors. The new variant entered service in 2023, and further boasted a new electronic warfare suite, more advanced processing systems and greater top armour for protection against <a href=" target="_blank">drone strikes</a>. Its features led it to widely be promoted in Israeli and Western media as a futuristic ‘supertank’ with particularly high levels of survivability, although very few have been produced. Israel has remained far ahead of its allies in NATO in integrating many of these features onto its frontline armour, and has received major contracts to integrate the Trophy system onto German Leopard 2A8 and American M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams tanks. The performance of the tank’s subsystems thus has broader implications for Western Bloc ground force capabilities.</p><p ><img src=" title="Destruction of Merkava Tank in July 2024"></p><p >Despite militias in the Gaza Strip being lightly armed, they have taken a significant toll on Israeli armour with several dozen Merkava tanks, and <a href=" target="_blank">hundreds more</a> armoured vehicles from <a href=" target="_blank">other classes</a>, having been lost. Footage of successful attacks on Israeli armour have been <a href=" >published</a> multiple times since Israel began an invasion of Gaza in October 2023, with attacks by local paramilitaries frequently involving attaching explosives such as magnetic mines to Israeli armour, often in conjunction with rocket propelled grenades. An example was <a href=" >seen in early July</a>, when two Palestinian personnel were shown approaching the tank from its left side, planting explosives under its turret, then retreating in the opposite direction shortly after which a detonation disabled the vehicle. A notable landmark in the successful attacks on Israeli armour was the killing of the commander of the commander of the Israel Defence Force's 401st Armoured Brigade, Colonel Ehsan Daqsa, who died in Northern Gaza in mid-October. In parallel to operations in Gaza, the Israeli Merkava fleet has simultaneously <a href=" target="_blank">taken significant losses </a>operating in Southern Lebanon against the Hezbollah paramilitary group, which remains <a href=" target="_blank">much better equipped</a> than Palestinian paramilitaries.</p>