Helicopter carrying Israeli troops to south after Hamas assault was hit by explosive

None of the dozens of soldiers aboard the Sikorsky CH-53 were hurt in October 7 incident, as pilots managed to safely land the aircraft before it went up in flames

By ToI Staff 15 October 2023, 11:34 am Edit
A member of Israeli rescue services searches the remains of an Israeli CH-53 Yasur helicopter on October 15, 2023, which was reportedly hit by Hamas during their attack a week earlier, on the Israeli side of the northern Gaza border. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
A member of Israeli rescue services searches the remains of an Israeli CH-53 Yasur helicopter on October 15, 2023, which was reportedly hit by Hamas during their attack a week earlier, on the Israeli side of the northern Gaza border. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

A helicopter ferrying troops to southern Israel shortly after Hamas launched its devastating surprise assault from the Gaza Strip last Saturday was struck by an explosive device fired by Palestinian terrorists.

Dozens of troops from the Paratroopers Brigade were aboard the Sikorsky CH-53 Yasur helicopter when it was struck, but none were hurt, according to Hebrew media accounts published Saturday after the military lifted a gag order on reporting details of the incident.

The pilots were able to land the helicopter, allowing the soldiers to safely deboard.

Images showed most of the helicopter was destroyed after later going up in flames, with few parts of the aircraft remaining recognizable beyond the rotor and tail.

It was not clear what type of projectile hit the helicopter, with the Ynet news site reporting it was an anti-tank missile and Channel 13 news saying it was a rocket-propelled grenade.

After the aircraft was disabled, the pilots were transferred to another helicopter to continue flying soldiers to the Gaza border area, according to the reports.

The incident occurred on October 7, when over 1,300 people were killed, most of them civilians, and 150-200 taken captive by Hamas terrorists who rampaged through communities near the border, targeted a music festival and attacked military posts following a major incursion from air, sea and land.

Following the massacres, Israel declared war on Hamas and has since been pounding Gaza with airstrikes, saying it is targeting terrorist infrastructure and all areas where Hamas operates or hides.

The Hamas-run health ministry has reported 2,329 Palestinians have been killed and another 9,042 have been wounded in Israeli retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza.

Israeli forces also killed some 1,500 Hamas terrorists who infiltrated into its territory since last Saturday and have captured an unspecified number of them alive.

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