Watan-The Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar” stated that official Egyptian platforms have deleted photos of the Israeli Merkava tank captured during a training session for Egyptian soldiers, which was attended by Sisi, in order to train on how to hit and intercept it, following Israeli contacts with senior leaders in the state.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited the Special Operations Command and was briefed on a training statement regarding the study of weaknesses in the defense systems of the Merkava tank, considered the pride of Israeli industry.
At the despicable request of Israel from Egypt to delete a picture of the flaws of the Merkava tank, I turned it into a tin can.
The official photos and videos published of Sisi inside the “Egyptian Military Academy” during his surprise visit sparked a crisis with Israel, due to highlighting footage including an explanation of the maneuverability capabilities of the Israeli Merkava tank and its flaws.
Most Israeli media outlets shed light on this visit by the Egyptian president, considering this training as an implicit clear threat to Israel not to invade the Palestinian city of Rafah.
Intentional publication
The newspaper close to Hezbollah quoted an Egyptian source described as high-ranking, saying that the publication of these clips “was intentional to send a clear message to the Israeli public that Egypt has the ability to wage war and continuously studies Israeli weapons in detail.”
The source added that the publication of these clips “came in response to Israeli statements repeated about Egypt’s lack of readiness to resort to a military option and its inability to engage in a war with Tel Aviv, regardless of the intensity of Israeli movements.”
بناء على طلب إسرائيلي حقير من مصر على حذف صورة عيوب الدبابة الميركافا اللي
الياسين 105 خليتها علب صاجصفحة المتحدث العسكري قبل حذف الصورة
وبعد حذف الصورة وشغل ستينات كأن الصورة لم تنتشر وكأن العالم ميعرفش نقط ضعف الميركافا يعني
قولهم الياسين 105 بيخافوا منه pic.twitter.com/721FoMQlwi— منير الخطير (@farag_nassar_) April 29, 2024
The message has been received
The source pointed out that “the message has already been received, so there was no justification for the continued existence of the photos.”
He continued, saying that the deletion “came in response to contacts at high military levels, after they were highlighted by the Israeli media,” noting that “Egypt did not find any problem with that, amidst ongoing Egyptian-Israeli coordination on several issues.”
The Merkava tank has become a subject of ridicule after being targeted by “Al-Qassam Brigades” and “Al-Quds Brigades” with homemade shells like the Yassin 105 shell.