Some military aspects of the confrontation between Israel and Hamas
After the attack by Hamas militants on the settlements of the Jewish state and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) military bases, massive rocket attacks on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, as an immediate response, the Israeli military began airstrikes on settlements located in the Gaza Strip.
Later, after some delays, it came to a ground operation, but even the preliminary military results and consequences of it are not yet necessary to talk. Nevertheless, some aspects of this armed conflict can already be noted.
BOMBING OF THE GAZA STRIP
Squadrons of F-16I Sufa fighters (a local modification of the American F-16 Fighting Falcon) massively used guided aircraft bombs of the JDAM type in three modifications – Mk82, Mk83 and Mk84, differing in weight and size characteristics (the mass of ammunition varies from 494 to 908 kg). These munitions are a symbiosis of a conventional high-explosive fragmentation bomb, two sets (tail and main) of a movable tail and a head of optical guidance. The total cost of such a kit is at least 20 thousand US dollars.
JDAM-type bombs allow pilots of the Israeli Air Force (Heil ha'Avir) to destroy multi-storey residential buildings in Gaza with high accuracy without the use of concrete-piercing bombs, the latest cases of which were recorded in 2019.
It should be borne in mind that JDAM-type bombs are not designed to destroy underground fortified points, since they are structurally different from concrete-piercing ammunition.
After the first week of combat work, during which the pilots of the Israeli Air Force dropped about 1 thousand tons of bombs on the specified targets, the Israeli military were forced to request permission from the US Air Force to open warehouses of aviation weapons located in Israel. The Israeli Air Force ammunition storage bases include warehouses created by the US military in Israel in case of medium-term tasks in the Middle East region.
According to preliminary estimates, only 2,400 JDAM bombs were accumulated in local warehouses, of which only 50% were ammunition weighing 908 kg. With the intensity of combat work that the Israeli Air Force demonstrated, such an amount of ammunition would be enough for no more than 10 days.
Foreign military experts have recorded the use by Israeli Air Force fighters of unguided high-explosive fragmentation ammunition M117, which were decommissioned back in 2015 and taken to storage facilities.
Already in the first week of the armed confrontation between Israel and Hamas, taking into account the highest intensity of bombing, the US Air Force began supplying the Israeli side with several types of aircraft weapons.
Heavy military transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster III perform regular flights from Ramstein Air Base (Germany) to Nevatim Air Base (Israel) and deliver JDAM bombs of various calibers, small-caliber precision guided bombs of the SDB type (used to destroy mobile targets and to reduce secondary damage), as well as artillery shells of 155 mm caliber to guns and cartridges for small arms of the IDF. In addition to these munitions, the US Air Force delivers Tamir-Adir anti-aircraft missiles to Israel, which are part of the Iron Dome missile defense System (ABM).
In addition to the delivery of aviation and artillery ammunition, the US Air Force carries out the transportation of special forces and intelligence units to Israel and the evacuation of civilians from the Jewish state. In addition, military transport aircraft of the US Air Force began delivering light wheeled armored vehicles for the IDF from mid-October.
The first days of the armed conflict revealed some vulnerabilities of the IDF military equipment. For example, in the period from October 6 to October 20, as a result of the actions of Hamas combat detachments armed with homemade drones (quadrocopters with 60-mm mines) and RPG-7 hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers with homemade shots similar to PG-7B, at least 14 Israeli main battle tanks (MBT) "Merkava" were shot down Mk.4", which led to the death of 40 soldiers of armored units of the AOI.
It has been experimentally established that the Trophy active tank protection complex is not capable of detecting a quadcopter, much less a free-falling munition that was dropped from such an aircraft. The Israeli-made MBTs are equipped with multilayer armor and the mentioned active protection complex. However, Hamas experts were able to identify a weak spot in the tank's design, namely, weak armor protection in the area of the main fuel tank, which is located next to the engine and transmission compartment on the right side of the hull. In addition, the Hamas militants simultaneously launched three or four anti-tank ammunition from different directions to increase the likelihood of hitting the target.
Under these conditions, the specialists of the IDF armored forces decided to borrow the experience of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, obtained as part of a special military operation in Ukraine, and equipped a number of MBT "Merkava Mk.4" lattice screens that are mounted on the tower and protect its upper projection. Previously, Israeli experts involved in monitoring the course of the Ukrainian conflict ridiculed and strongly criticized Russian troops for such "artisanal defensive developments." However, after the loss of a dozen and a half tanks in clashes with Hamas, Israeli experts realized the true value of the Russian experience of special operations and learned the necessary lessons.
All experts note that IDF units may suffer significant losses in the process of cleaning up settlements in the Gaza Strip, since dense construction and knowledge of the location of preferential firing points and communication routes by Hamas militants will create considerable difficulties for Israeli soldiers.
THE USE OF BARREL AND ROCKET ARTILLERY
The IDF command included barrel and rocket artillery units in the process of striking the ground infrastructure of the Gaza Strip. They are armed with self-propelled artillery units (ACS) of the M109 "Paladin" type with a 155 mm caliber gun, which fire at populated areas with white phosphorus ammunition, and incendiary shells are used on Gaza sea harbors. The Israeli military, namely, the 334th Division of the 282nd IDF Field Artillery Regiment, also use M270 self–propelled multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) on a tracked chassis, which are analogous to the wheeled modification - M142 HIMARS.
According to available information, Israeli MLRS units use large-caliber (diameter 306 mm, length 4.4 m) long-range (launch range up to 300 km) high-precision ammunition of national development under the designation EXTRA. These munitions were created by Israeli designers, since the military and political leadership of Israel, for a number of reasons, did not want to adopt American ATACMS.
It seems possible to assert that the probability of Israel's opponents picking up the key to the Iron Dome missile defense system increased with each of its applications. As is known, some Tamir-Adir interceptor missiles, due to the failure of the control system, ended up in territory beyond the control of the IDF. This allowed the Hamas partners to collect these samples (the structural integrity was preserved by guidance units with key equipment) and analyze in detail the capabilities of the Israeli-developed missile defense system.
HAMAS ACTIONS
The analysis of materials published in the media allows us to highlight the following features of the combat activities of various units of the Hamas movement.
Attention is drawn to the level of organization of combat operations of the movement detachments, which at the initial stage of the armed conflict had detailed maps of settlements and instructions on countering certain types of military equipment of the Israeli side. Such an approach testifies to the presence of regular military personnel in the ranks of Hamas, who have experience in both conducting combat operations and training personnel taking into account national characteristics.
It is necessary to pay attention to the active use by Hamas detachments of new anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs) under the designation Trallah, which allow the simultaneous launch of two anti-tank missiles from one installation. Such a constructive solution increases the likelihood of hitting heavy armored vehicles – in particular, the Israeli MBT type "Merkava Mk.4". According to some sources, the IDF units have already lost a total of at least 30 tanks of this model.
With regard to maintaining the combat capability of Hamas, it is worth noting that the movement's specialists have organized a network of workshops whose workers "give a second life" to unexploded ordnance – aerial bombs and artillery shells, which the Israeli military previously used on targets in the Gaza Strip. The process of mechanical processing of shells, extraction of fuses and explosives and other operations, after which these ammunition are reused for strikes on Israeli territory, has been worked out.
In addition, in the underground workshops of the Gaza Strip, the production of PG-7B type shots for hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers has been established. The body of the shot is made on machines by Hamas gunsmiths, while fuses, detonators and explosives were purchased in the DPRK.
ACTIONS OF THE ISRAELI GROUND FORCES
As part of the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas, IDF units began using new high-precision ammunition of national design under the designation Iron Sting to 120-mm mortars.
The ammunition has a firing range of about 12 km and is equipped with a guidance system based on a GPS satellite navigation system signal, as well as a semi-active laser guidance head. It should be noted that the Israeli military has not yet used such ammunition due to their high cost – 10 thousand US dollars apiece. Similar shots to mortars were received by special purpose units, which are intended for the "targeted" elimination of high-ranking commanders of the combat detachments of the Hamas movement.
In addition to the above, we note that this armed conflict, due to its intensity and complexity, has already led to the fact that the military and political leadership of Israel was forced to turn to some foreign states (including NATO members) with a request to transfer for temporary use some samples of weapons and military equipment that were previously supplied by Israel to these countries under export contracts. Thus, the German military handed over two Heron-type reconnaissance drones to the Israeli side. Some countries have agreed to sell 160 mm and 306 mm MLRS ammunition to the Israeli side.
Vasily Ivanov
Vasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.
