IDF: Tank Losses Really Not So Bad
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - One of the top stories in Israel during the war with Hezbollah was the terrorists' ability to neutralize Israel's vaunted armored forces, and in particular the Merkava 4 main battle tank. Supplied by Syria and Iran, Hezbollah made deadly use of some of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world, including the Soviet-built Sagger, the French-made MILAN and the US-built TOW missile systems. However, Brig.-Gen. Halutsi Rudoy, head of Israel's Armored Corps, told The Jerusalem Post that out of more than 400 tanks operating in Lebanon, Hezbollah managed only to hit a few dozen, and out of those only 20 were penetrated. Thirty tank crew members were killed. Said Rudoy, "We were at war, and in war the soldiers and the tanks at the front are the ones that get hit the most. It could have been worse, and thanks to the high professional level of the tank crews, the damage was far less than what was expected in the beginning." The general noted that the enemy's anti-tank missiles were actually used to far greater effect against Israel's infantry troops, 70 of who were killed in anti-tank missile attacks on homes they had commandeered in Lebanese villages.
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