IOF resort to Kamikaze APCs fearing mounting losses and casualties
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Israeli media reveal that the Israeli Occupation Army is resorting to deploying old APCs rigged with explosives in order to reduce casualties in its lines.
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Israeli army vehicles are seen at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have adopted a new operational tactic in the Gaza Strip as their soldiers continue to face threats from Palestinian Resistance operations, according to a report by Israeli newspaper Maariv.
Maariv confirmed that the IOF are using old armored personnel carriers loaded with tons of explosives (12 tons) and remotely operated, noting that they are called "Kamikaze APCs," designed to reach their target and be remotely detonated.
The report added that this method was first deployed after the disastrous incident involving a Golani Brigade APC in Gaza City's al-Shujaiya neighborhood, and has since become a standard tactic used to clear paths, demolish buildings, and target infrastructure without exposing troops to direct danger.
Israeli security sources told the newspaper that "each armored vehicle carries tons of explosives," adding that a single detonation produces a massive blast wave, with shockwaves audible from miles away.
This comes as Palestinian Resistance forces continue their operations across Gaza, targeting Israeli occupation troops and military vehicles, inflicting heavy casualties.
Beyond this, there are concerns that this new tactic will increase civilian casualties even further, with bombings and killings of Palestinian civilians becoming even more indiscriminate.
IOF face mounting losses from Palestinian Resistance ops
The al-Qassam Brigades announced on May 31 that their fighters had ambushed a Zionist infantry unit in a carefully planned trap and engaged them at point-blank range with light weapons during a May 27 operation. The al-Qassam fighters confirmed fatalities and injuries among the Israeli force.
The brigades also reported on May 30 that they had jointly carried out an operation with Saraya al-Quds against an Israeli-aligned collaborationist unit in southern Gaza, as fighting continued and truce talks remained deadlocked.
In their statement, al-Qassam detailed that the collaborationist force had been sheltering inside a home in Khan Younis's European Housing complex when Resistance fighters hit the building with both a TBG bunker-busting round and a fragmentation shell, causing fatalities and injuries among the unit's members.
The brigades announced on May 25 that their fighters had rigged a house where Israeli soldiers were sheltering with multiple high-explosive devices and detonated it in the early hours of May 20, causing the building to collapse and inflicting heavy casualties on the troops inside.
