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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

MWM claim: Israel lost 21 tanks in one day, a 40-year record

2026-03-28

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] On March 26, the Israeli army lost 21 Mercava tanks to Hezbollah attacks in one day, making these losses the largest for Israel in over 40 years. This was reported on March 27 by observers from the American military publication Military Watch Magazine (MWM).

Queerly enough, we have nothing about this IDF Merkava tank massacre in the Rantburg archive, despite Israel vs Hezbollah being one of the battlefronts we watch very closely, though yesterday we posted two tweets and articles from the Times of Israel and Lebanon’s An Nahar about the day’s events — see the Related articles at the bottom of this post. But perhaps one of today’s articles will confirm the claims here.

The Israeli army suffered more significant losses only during the Lebanon War of 1982, when its Mercava and old American tanks engaged in combat with the T-72, the report said.

The authors linked Hezbollah's success to the deployment of the Radwan special forces to the front, which, according to their estimates, significantly outperforms the movement's regular units in combat power.

Earlier, a video surfaced online showing an FPV drone being used against a Merkava tank. According to preliminary reports, the attack took place in southern Lebanon. The published footage shows the drone operator, allegedly affiliated with Hezbollah, spotting the tank and directing the drone toward it. The strike occurred near the junction between the turret and the hull.

The referenced article from Military Watch Magazine, whose About Us says it is based in Seoul, and whose chief editor trained in Kings College, London:

Israeli Army Takes Heaviest Tank Losses in Over 40 Years as Hezbollah Ambushes Destroy 21 Merkavas in One Day

The Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah has reported on the results of multiple ambushes launched against Israeli forces in southern Leb
Leb

...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
, with 21 Israeli Merkava main battle tanks reported on March 26 to have been destroyed within a 24 hour period. Other consequences of engagements have included the firing of over 60 rockets at targets in the Galilee region that day, complementing much longer range strikes against Israeli targets launched by Hezbollah’s close strategic partner Iran. Hezbollah artillery units also targeted Israeli command positions in the Taybeh region, Rab Thalathin and Oudaiseh, while also firing on Israeli reinforcements that were dispatched to evacuate casualties. The paramilitary group reports regarding further strikes: "the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of War (Kyria) in the center of Tel Aviv, and the Dolphin barracks belonging to the Military Intelligence Division north of Tel Aviv, with a number of special missiles."

The bulk of Israeli armour losses occurred in a single engagement between the towns of Taybeh and Qantara, after Israeli units reportedly "advanced to carry out a manoeuvre aiming to seize control of the area." Hezbollah’s official statement observed that its personnel "monitored them and prepared to lure the enemy into a well-planned ambush," with the result that its forces "succeeded in thwarting the enemy’s manoeuvre, inflicting losses including 10 Merkava tanks and D9 bulldozers." The results of the successes reported to have been achieved by Hezbollah units represent the most extreme losses Israeli armour has suffered in over 40 years since the early stages of the Lebanon War when Merkavas and older U.S.-supplied tanks engaged newly operationalised Syrian Army T-72 tanks and anti-tank guided weapons.

The latest setbacks to Israeli operations follow reports that Hezbollah had deployed its Radwan special forces for counteroffensives against Israeli units. These forces were not previously deployed for engagements with Israeli forces, but observations of their counterinsurgency operations in Syria have led analysts to conclude that they are very considerably more capable than Hezbollah’s regular units. The presence of Radwan forces on the frontlines may be a primary contributor to the more intensive losses which Israeli armour has taken from mid-March. Merkava tanks notably previously took a number of losses during Israeli Army operations against Paleostinian paramiltiary groups in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip from late 2023, although the much lower quantities of equipment, poorer fortifications, and inferior training standards in the theatre meant that losses were negligible by comparison to those seen during engagements with Hezbollah.

Posted by:badanov

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Posted by: Chantry 2026-03-28 17:22

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Posted by: Grom the Affective 2026-03-28 04:45

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