Lt. Col. Salman Habka, commander of the 53rd Battalion in the 188th Brigade, fell in battle in Gaza, leading the battalion in determined fighting. On the morning of Simchat Torah, October 7, Salman arrived on his own initiative at the combat zone near the Gaza Strip, organized two tanks and joined the fierce fighting in Kibbutz Be'eri. His contribution there was very significant.
Salman, from the village of Yanoh in the Western Galilee, was one of an outstanding group of armored officers from the Druze community who devoted themselves to permanent service in the Armored Corps and reached senior command positions, including the Chief Armored Officer, Brigadier General Hisham Ibrahim. They are all excellent people who gave the Armored Corps a great impetus to the fighting spirit.
Documentation: Joint attack by armored forces and air force in the Gaza Strip // Photo: IDF Spokesperson
In recent decades, with the distancing of the Great Wars, the Armored Corps' prestige in the competition for young recruits has declined. With the focus on special operations, young people preferred to integrate into the formations of special units or infantry brigades that gained fame.
And yet, far from the spotlights of glory, the commanders of the Armored Corps managed to build up the vital combat force that is currently fighting at the gates of Gaza. Through black work and the struggle for resources, they succeeded in attaching innovative weapons to heroic young fighters.
Great evil of man and machine
In the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, faced with images of Russian armored columns lying burned on the roadsides, tanks and armored troops were quick to eulogize. However, as the fighting continued there, they discovered that it was impossible to turn the campaign around without the intensity of the armored attack. Defensive battles have also rediscovered the vital need for flexibility and mobility afforded to the defending force through armored vehicles.
An Israeli soldier hangs a flag on the tank, Photo: Reuters
The IDF learned this lesson in the Simchat Torah battles on October 7 and the day after. When a line of defense collapses, and a rapid effort is required to stop enemy penetration and defensive lines on a second line, there is no substitute for tanks. They are the only component that offers a mobile, armored force on the battlefield with firepower and observation capabilities - a quick response to changing battle situations. Thus, in those two days of systemic crisis in the fighting to re-establish the line of defense, the tank and the combat helicopter bought their world anew.
The armored vehicles – Merkava and Tiger – which operate during these hours in combat to the gates of Gaza, are the best in the world in terms of protection and survivability, and in fire control systems. Without the advantages of these tools, operation in the Gaza Strip's combat zone, which is so fortified and full of traps, would not have been possible.
And after all, despite all technological advances, as General Israel Tal stated: "The man in the tank will win." This is indeed what is happening these days, in the display of the heroism of the tank crews and heavy armored personnel carriers, and the heroism of the commanders who lead the fighting with confident leadership and the striving for victory.
A soldier examining a tank. Small to the Gaza border, photo: AP
As a veteran commander in the Armored Corps, I salute them with great appreciation and excitement. Armored Fighters of Autumn 2023 - Veterans of the Armored Corps believe in you, wish for your victory and pray for your well-being.
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