The bulldozers used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to enter Hamasoccupied areas aroused the curiosity of Internet users. There are reasons for this: the vehicles whose job it is to move through the narrow streets of the Gaza Strip are armored and equipped with machine guns.
About a hundred excavators were manufactured by the North American company Catterpillar and are called D9R. They were mobilized to the front lines in the Palestinian territory. The vehicles, which can also destroy bombs, are controlled by soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps.
The details of the Israeli excavators
The D9R is equipped with highly durable armor to protect Israeli soldiers from Hamas attacks. The protection is in the form of a cage and covers a large part of the vehicle. The windows and pillars of the excavator cabin are armored. Because what worries the Israeli armed forces most are the terrorists’ rocket launchers.
Also read: “Israel sends armored excavators with machine guns to the front”
It is not the first time that bulldozers have been used on the battlefield against Hamas terrorists. According to the British newspaper The Independent, armored excavators were used in Operation Cast Lead between 2008 and 2009.
The vehicles sent to the Israeli Defense Forces will not only be used to clear paths through enemy territory. They also have defensive abilities. After a series of structural changes, the excavators received machine guns.
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The D9R must be operated by two soldiers. While one controls the vehicle, another is responsible for the armament and communications that connect the excavator to the Israeli army’s intelligence headquarters.
Also read: “The Persistence of a People”, article by Ana Paula Henkel, published in issue 189 of Revista Oeste