Military equipment shortages proved deadly for Israeli troops: Report

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
6 Jul 2024 20:51
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Shortages and subpar military equipment and systems are putting Israeli occupation forces' lives in danger, an Israeli investigation finds.

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Israeli occupation soldiers repair a tank at a staging ground outside the Gaza Strip, in occupied Palestine, on May 8, 2024. (AP)

As talks of Israeli aggression against Lebanon gain traction in occupation circles, fears grow over the readiness and stockpiles of Israeli occupation forces.

According to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, the occupation's military is experiencing a "really dangerous" situation, in which it suffers from shortages affecting various equipment.

As pointed out in Channel 12's report, the Israeli military command has been denying such claims in the past week, however, a recent extensive internal investigation has proven otherwise.

Israeli regular, reserve, and volunteering forces complained to the broadcaster of shortages affecting essential military gear, including ballistic armor, helmets, optical sights, and bomb suits, all of which are considered to be life-saving equipment.

Despite the shortage of individual gear among Israeli soldiers, a more dangerous scenario has come into effect. The broadcaster revealed that the status of the armory in a single Israeli formation led to drastically different results on the battlefield.

According to the report, Israeli military equipment, which includes armored vehicles and tanks, is subject to different standards, as some gear and systems are not up to the general quality of military-grade equipment.

Dangerous shortages risked Israeli troops' lives

In one such scenario, which the broadcaster could only briefly discuss due to Israeli military censorship, an Israeli unit that had two different types of armored equipment saw forces killed in the under-armored system, while the more armored one saved the crew in a similar scenario.

Photos and footage of old Israeli armored vehicles, which have been stored as military stockpiles following a period of modernization, have begun to resurface following months of the war on Gaza.

In a recent report published by Maariv, shocking news regarding the losses suffered by Israeli armored forces emerged. The newspaper said that 500 armored vehicles, of various types, suffered damages since October 7, 2023. The lackluster Zelda M113 armored personnel carrier (APC) has been more heavily deployed by occupation forces in the Gaza Strip and has also been seen near the border with Lebanon.

In comparison to the weak armor of the M113, the Israeli Namer APC features an armored hull based on the design of the main battle Merkava 4 tank, shedding light on the huge gap between various Israeli equipment and systems.

Supposing the reports published by both Israeli news outlets are correct, a scenario in which armored and ground forces would be deployed into offensive actions against Lebanon may prove even more costly for occupation forces.

Hezbollah's wide range of precision-guided munitions, anti-tank missiles, and advancing combat engineering capabilities and combat tactics are a real threat to be reckoned with in any case of Israeli military readiness.