IDF footage shows elite counter-terror unit fighting inside Gaza
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF releases footage showing troops of the elite LOTAR unit fighting in the Gaza Strip.
LOTAR, also known as the counter-terror school, is usually tasked with training other elite units, but has been deployed for the first time in Gaza, alongside other maneuvering units.
The IDF says the unit has unique abilities that it is using in Gaza, including snipers, explosive experts, and tools to breach into buildings.
In one incident amid the fighting, the IDF says LOTAR troops identified a Hamas operative coming out of a tunnel shaft while opening fire at soldiers, apparently in an attempt to draw them to an explosive device planted nearby.
It says the troops returned fire, hurled grenades, and killed the gunman, before locating the tunnel and destroying it.
Part of the incident can be seen in the newly released footage.
The IDF releases footage showing the elite LOTAR unit fighting in the Gaza Strip, including during an incident where the unit's troops identified a Hamas operative coming out of a tunnel shaft while opening fire at soldiers, apparently in an attempt to draw them to an explosive… pic.twitter.com/7u6mOYiGHM
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 21, 2023
