New details were published on Wednesday evening on Kan News regarding the Puma APC disaster in Khan Younis, in which seven soldiers were killed by the explosion of a bomb thrown by a terrorist into the IDF vehicle.
According to chilling details revealed in the IDF’s internal investigation, the APC’s exit hatch was broken. The soldiers tied it with a rope, leaving it open, and the terrorist threw the bomb into the vehicle through the opening.
In addition, the cameras on the APC had not been working for a long period. Soldiers testified that the commanders knew about the malfunctions, but no action was taken to improve the situation.
A father of a soldier in the battalion said last week that the soldiers were using outdated equipment without perimeter cameras due to budgetary concerns.
“It’s the only battalion with old Puma vehicles, which are outdated,” he said. “Other battalions use Namer APCs. The vehicles are so old that every few weeks the engine has to be replaced.”
Parents of soldiers in the battalion sent a letter to the battalion commander last week, stating, “We are shaken and appalled by the recklessness that has been revealed in all its force in the serious and horrifying event in which we lost seven precious soldiers, whom we entrusted to you, due to gross negligence. It is inconceivable that the battalion under your command is the only one in the IDF that still uses old and faulty equipment lacking the protection that all other infantry battalions routinely receive, including the rest of the engineering battalions.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
