The Panther is a fully armored Israeli personnel carrier, built to transport IDF infantry soldiers to the battlefield, at a cost of about $3 million, and classified according to its features and accessories among the safest armored personnel carriers in the world.
At the end of October 2023, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), destroyed one of the Nimr armored vehicles using a Kornet rocket, during Israel's attempts to invade Gaza, and the destruction of the armored vehicle killed 11 Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli invasion attempts came after the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation launched by the Qassam Brigades on October 7, 2023, when it stormed the settlements surrounding Gaza, controlled for several hours Israeli military centers and bases, killed hundreds of soldiers and captured about 250 Israelis.
Development history
Sources in the Israeli press indicate that the idea of manufacturing the armored personnel carrier, "Al-Nimr", was born from the womb of a harsh day that the Walla website described as the most difficult for the occupation army.
On May 12, 2004, while the Israeli army was searching for the remains of six of its soldiers who were killed after the Palestinian resistance targeted an M6 armored personnel carrier, Hamas fighters managed to hit another QM113 armored personnel carrier loaded with explosives.
The five Israeli soldiers on board were killed, and a photo published of some of the occupation soldiers crawling near the burning armored vehicle in search of the remains of their colleagues reinforced the debate about the feasibility of the occupation presence in Gaza, and renewed the debate at the time about the disengagement plan with the Gaza Strip.
Therefore, the occupation army realized the need for a replacement troop carrier for the M113, whose development plans did not succeed in providing better protection.
The beginning of development
The Tiger armored vehicle was developed by Oshkosh, an American company specializing in the design and manufacture of trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies and cranes, and designed with four-wheel drive that enables it to skip rough roads and large rocks.
The American armored company sold the armored vehicle to several parties, including Israel, as the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced in 2017 on its official website the purchase of 200 of them, which it received the following year.
The Israeli Department of Technology and Logistics worked on developing the structure of the armored vehicle, to increase the protection of its soldiers during attacks on the Palestinian territories, and the Israeli defense industries sought to develop the armored engine, jumping it to a 900-horsepower engine.
Israel introduced the armored vehicle into service in 2021, replacing the Cheetah tanker, which was recommended to be replaced following the 2014 Gaza war.
The decision to replace was a result of the losses incurred by the occupation army in its war on Gaza, after which it obtained armored vehicles carrying soldiers of the "Tiger" type, sufficient for a crew of 3 commanders, including the driver, and a capacity sufficient to carry 8 infantry soldiers.
The armored vehicle weighs about ten tons, has a speed of no more than 60 kilometers per hour for safety reasons, and has a capacity of only 14 soldiers.
The armored engines "Tiger" run with diesel to avoid the speed of ignition, and its structure is completely coated with special materials for thermal insulation that delay combustion, and its walls are covered with 3 strong sheets that protect it from shells.
The armored vehicle has protection systems against flooding and adverse weather conditions such as wind and rain.
Tiger armored accessories
The "Tiger" armored vehicle is equipped with surveillance cameras that enable it to monitor its entire surroundings, in addition to "window" openings that allow soldiers to reconnaissance and snipe from inside the armored vehicle, while light weapons bullets cannot harm the armored vehicle.
It is also equipped with a special armor system against small arms and light weapons, armed with two 12mm machine guns, a 30mm cannon, a 40mm grenade launcher, as well as five emergency exits, in case they are penetrated by precision missiles.
The armored vehicle carries missiles that can be launched with remote controls, touch machine guns, as well as automatic tire re-inflation systems, and other modern warfare technologies.
The armored cabin has a sophisticated air conditioning and heating system, wide windows with a direct line of sight ideal for seeing the outside, as well as openings in the corners, and protection bars to repel threats.
The final design of the armored vehicle includes an ergonomically designed cockpit, similar to that of the Merkava tank, equipped with advanced sighting devices.
Foot soldiers are at the rear of the armored structure, which is equipped with a hydraulic ramp that allows them to enter and exit with maximum protection.
Al-Qassam destroys the armored "Tiger"
The al-Qassam Brigades published a video of the Israeli Tiger armored vehicle being hit by a Kornet guided missile in eastern Gaza's eastern Shejaiya neighborhood at the end of October 2023.
On Wednesday, the first of November 2023, the occupation army announced the death of seven soldiers of the "Al-Sabbar" battalion of the "Givati" brigade after the destruction of the armored vehicle.
This is not the first armored vehicle destroyed by Qassam rockets, but the Israeli occupation forces lost an armored vehicle in June 2023, after the Qassam hit it with an explosive device while trying to storm Jenin, and this operation led to the injury of seven occupation soldiers.
The destruction of the Tiger armored vehicle during its incursion into the Gaza Strip in 2023 shocked the Israeli army, which invested a lot of money in that armored vehicle.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced the opening of an investigation into the reasons for the destruction of the armored vehicle and the death of all the soldiers on board.
"This is a very difficult and painful incident, but it is not like other previous military incidents, and it must be studied before a final conclusion is given," Hagari said.