Israel's forgotten M113 carriers: Hidden traps for Hezbollah
Israel is known for its innovative tactics, and one example is leaving abandoned old M113 Zelda armored personnel carriers in Lebanon as Trojan horses. Here's why the IDF does this.
3:23 PM EDT, October 4, 2024
In Lebanon, after the IDF entered, abandoned M113 Zelda armored personnel carriers were discovered, intended to serve as traps for Hezbollah fighters. These Israeli relics are reportedly filled with explosives and left as bait.
The likely intention is to detonate them when Hezbollah fighters attempt to seize them or potentially use them as a hideout. This isn't the first instance of such tactics; the IDF has used similar traps before during confrontations with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
M113 Zelda — a relic serving as a Trojan horse for Israel
The IDF no longer uses M113 carriers, except in specialized variants like anti-aircraft Machbets. For this reason, about 5,000 vehicles were stored, and someone devised an unusual way to utilize them.
It's possible that Israel converted some M113s into remotely controlled moving bombs (resistant to gunfire, for example, from AK rifles) or uses them as traps for fighters looking to capture a trophy.
M113 transporters are an old design from the Vietnam War era, adapted to carry 11 soldiers in addition to the commander, who also serves as the gunner and the driver. Due to flotation requirements, the armor of the M113 is made of aluminum alloys and provides protection only against artillery shrapnel and fire from 7.62 mm caliber rifles.
It's important to note that this protection applies only to bullets with a lead core, and an FN FAL rifle loaded with armor-piercing ammunition would easily penetrate it. For decades, it was the most common armored personnel carrier within NATO during the Cold War, but today, it is considered an outdated design. Nevertheless, it is still better than a hastily reinforced pickup truck.
