Hamas Destroying Israeli Tanks with Improvised Missile

Hamas engineers have worked on the Russia-origin Yasin 105 anti-tank rocket over the years to transform it from an armored vehicle destroyer to a weapon capable of destroying Israeli Merkava tanks.

These rockets were first used in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, launched against settlements in the Gaza Strip on October 7, and have proven to be highly effective, according to Jordan News.

The Yasin 105 rocket was developed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of Hamas in Gaza. It was inspired by the Russian “Tandem 85” rocket, which Hamas first used in the “Al-Furqan” battle in January 2009. They targeted and destroyed an Israeli armored vehicle east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza. The resistance employed a Russian-made version of the “Tandem 85” rocket in the “Al-Asif Al-Ma’kul” battle in July 2014, and it showed its power by demolishing nine Israeli tanks. The Qassam Brigades declared in February 2017 that they had created a local version of the “Tandem 85” rocket, calling it the “Yasin 105”. They said they had made enhancements that increased its precision and performance against tanks and armored vehicles in general.

The Yasin 105 shell has a dual warhead design, making it effective against heavily armored vehicles. Launched from an RPG launcher, it can penetrate armor, destroy a vehicle from the inside, and has an effective range of 150 meters. Weighing 4.5 kilograms, it offers ground forces a deadly and efficient option, capable of penetrating solid iron up to 60 centimeters after breaching the outer armor.

Iranian state-owned IRNA reported the Al-Qassam Brigades declared that they had hit a Zionist military vehicle with the Al-Yassin 105MM anti-armour missile.

The Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades also claimed on Tuesday that they had demolished 15 Israeli tanks and military vehicles using anti-armor shells in Beit Hanoun, a town in the northern Gaza Strip.