Army studying attack on Israel to imbibe lessons on threats

The Indian Army is closely analysing the unprecedented, multi-pronged attacks on Israel by the militant group Hamas to draw relevant lessons, especially the use of power gliders by militants to cross over by air, defence sources said.

“The aerial attacks, especially the use of power gliders, is of particular concern for us. The idea of the study is to quickly draw the lessons relevant to our context,” a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Other relevant agencies are also studying the attacks very closely given the nature of the terror threats that India faces, another source said.

Last weekend, Hamas hit Israel by land, sea and air. The group fired a few thousand rockets as hundreds of its cadres breached a wall and entered Israel, killing hundreds of civilians. The militants used power gliders to enter Israel while small drones, costing a few thousands of rupees, were used to drop bombs on expensive frontline military hardware.

One of the videos the attack showed an Israeli Merkava Mark IV tank, which costs over $3 million, destroyed by a bomb dropped from the top by a small drone. Tanks, which are highly armoured on the sides, are relatively vulnerable from the top.

The sudden spurt in the use of small drones has already been flagged as a major threat by the armed forces, including the lessons from the war in Ukraine, and drones, swarm drones and induction of counter-drone systems has been a major focus area. Adding to security concerns for India is also the growing usage of drones for dropping arms and ammunition across the International Border with Pakistan in Jammu. In the recent round of Emergency Procurements, the three services have acquired significant systems in these categories.