Israeli security sources had said at the time that there are strong indications that the Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip have upgraded their anti-tank missile capabilities.
The Zionist entity on Sunday decided it will deploy tanks equipped with an active armor protection system known as Windbreaker to the border area along the Gaza Strip, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Monday, amid information that Palestinian fighters have upgraded their anti-tank missiles.
The daily said that the deployment is to begin next month following intelligence assessments that the threat of anti-tank missile attacks in the area is on the rise.
Two weeks ago an Israeli tank was hit in the northern portion of the border with the Gaza Strip by an anti-tank missile. The tank was damaged but the crew was not injured.
Israeli security sources had said at the time that there are strong indications that the Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip have upgraded their anti-tank missile capabilities.
A number of Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip hold hundreds of anti-tank missiles, of different types and sophistication - from the relatively simply RPG to advanced anti-tank missiles.
Haaretz also reported that a battalion from the 401st Brigade will be deployed with its Windbreaker-equipped tanks in the area, after another one was to have deployed its armored units earlier.
The Rafael produced system, which is marketed abroad as Trophy, is capable of neutralizing advanced anti-tank missiles at different ranges. Following the 2006 July war, the Israeli occupation forces decided to procure the system because of the many incidents in which anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah fighters managed to damage Israeli tanks.
The daily added that four years after the war, only a single battalion has been equipped with the system - the 9th. The battalion is also equipped with the most modern type of Merkava battle tank, the Mark IV. At the current rate of procurement it will be several years before significant numbers of battalions are equipped with the system.
The daily said that the deployment is to begin next month following intelligence assessments that the threat of anti-tank missile attacks in the area is on the rise.
Two weeks ago an Israeli tank was hit in the northern portion of the border with the Gaza Strip by an anti-tank missile. The tank was damaged but the crew was not injured.
Israeli security sources had said at the time that there are strong indications that the Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip have upgraded their anti-tank missile capabilities.
A number of Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip hold hundreds of anti-tank missiles, of different types and sophistication - from the relatively simply RPG to advanced anti-tank missiles.
Haaretz also reported that a battalion from the 401st Brigade will be deployed with its Windbreaker-equipped tanks in the area, after another one was to have deployed its armored units earlier.
The Rafael produced system, which is marketed abroad as Trophy, is capable of neutralizing advanced anti-tank missiles at different ranges. Following the 2006 July war, the Israeli occupation forces decided to procure the system because of the many incidents in which anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah fighters managed to damage Israeli tanks.
The daily added that four years after the war, only a single battalion has been equipped with the system - the 9th. The battalion is also equipped with the most modern type of Merkava battle tank, the Mark IV. At the current rate of procurement it will be several years before significant numbers of battalions are equipped with the system.
