FACT CHECK: Has Israel Lost 962 Tanks?
A post shared on X claims that Israel has lost 962 tanks.
🚨Message from Al-Qassam🚨
☝️Since the seventh of October, more than 1108 vehicles of the Israeli-American-European occupation forces have been destroyed, including the following:
🔻962 tanks
🔻55 troop carriers
🔻74 Bulldozers
🔻3 Excavators
🔻14 military jeeps“Next… pic.twitter.com/mHbaBSfZkX
— طالب باصليب✌️ (@Taleb_Baslieb) February 15, 2024
Verdict: Misleading
There is no evidence that Israel has lost 962 tanks. Israel has visibly lost 41 tanks, according to an open-source intelligence website.
Fact Check:
Israel has vowed to launch an attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza if hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups are not released by Ramadan, according to NBC News.
Social media users are sharing claims that Israel has lost 962 tanks in its invasion of Gaza. (RELATED: Houthi Rebels Claim To Hit U.S. Warship In Red Sea)
However, the claim, which originated from Hamas, appears to be misleading. If Israel had lost hundreds of tanks, media outlets would have reported it, yet none appear to verify the 962 number.
Armada Rotta, an open-source intelligence website tracking armor losses in the conflict, has documented a total of 41 Israeli tanks destroyed, damaged or captured since Oct. 7. The last verified update was January 3, which showed that 5 Merkava tanks were damaged.
03.01.2024
Updated: Israel At War: Documenting Equipment Losses During The 2023 🇮🇱Israel-Gaza War
Check out our Blog for the whole List:https://t.co/1hYwjqC75k pic.twitter.com/0p6XT5uRyH
— Armada Rotta (@ArmadaRotta) January 3, 2024
An Israeli tank crew member, who is anonymous on X and appears to have fought in Gaza, casted doubt on the claim. David Daoud, a senior fellow with expertise on Israel and Lebanon at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said in a Feb. 8 tweet that the claim was implausible.
Hamas media outlet Al-Jazeera uncritically repeats the group’s claim to have destroyed “1100 Israeli military vehicles, including 962 tanks.” That would mean that Hamas basically destroyed Israel’s armored corps — a highly implausible scenario.https://t.co/6SNU2W2mM5
— David Daoud (@DavidADaoud) February 8, 2024
“Hamas media outlet Al-Jazeera uncritically repeats the group’s claim to have destroyed ‘1100 Israeli military vehicles, including 962 tanks.’ That would mean that Hamas basically destroyed Israel’s armored corps — a highly implausible scenario,” Daoud tweeted.
An IDF spokesperson said they had no comment. Check Your Fact reached out to Armada Rotta for comment.