An anti-tank missile was fired at an IDF tank along the border with the Gaza
Strip on Wednesday, hours after troops exchanged fire with Egyptian soldiers in
the South.
The IDF said that the Trophy active protection system – which
defends against anti-tank missile fire – was activated and the incoming
projectile exploded, although the IDF has yet to determine if the missile was
intercepted or detonated prematurely. The attack took place near the Kissufim
Crossing in the central Gaza Strip.
The Trophy system is installed on
Merkava Mk 4 tanks – used by the 401st Armored Brigade. Using an advanced radar,
Trophy is designed to detect and track a threat, and counters it with a cloud of
countermeasures that intercept the incoming anti-tank missile.
Earlier in
the morning, the IDF, the Egyptian army and a group of drug smugglers exchanged
fire along the border with Egypt.
The incident started when the Egyptian
army spotted and opened fire on drug smugglers trying to cross the border into
Israel. Some of the fire accidentally hit an IDF patrol and the soldiers,
thinking they were under attack, returned fire. An Egyptian policeman reportedly
sustained light injuries.