Direct proof of use
Puma armored engineering vehicles were documented in Israeli ground operations in Gaza during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War. Army Recognition, citing IDF reporting, placed Puma heavy armored engineering vehicles with Merkava Mk.4 tanks and D9R armored bulldozers in a nighttime raid in northern Gaza on October 26, 2023.
A second Army Recognition report said IDF video released on November 1, 2023 showed Puma tracked engineer armored vehicles fitted with CARPET mine-clearing systems in the Gaza Strip against Hamas tunnels and positions.
The IDF later gave a direct official reference to a Puma in Gaza combat operations: on June 25, 2025, its spokesperson said Battalion 605 had been operating in the Khan Yunis area and that an explosive device was attached to an armored Puma vehicle belonging to brigade forces during operational activity.
Sources: Army Recognition Northern Gaza Raid, Army Recognition Carpet in Gaza, IDF June 25 2025 Briefing
Dated operational record
The first documented appearance in this record is the October 26, 2023 northern Gaza raid, where Pumas were reported as part of a mixed armored-engineering force used to clear paths and prepare terrain for follow-on operations.
On November 2, 2023, Army Recognition reported CARPET-equipped Puma vehicles in Gaza after IDF video from the previous day. That report tied the configuration to tunnel and position destruction rather than ordinary armored transport alone.
The June 2025 Khan Yunis incident shows the Puma still in use by Israeli combat engineers well into the war. The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post both reported that the soldiers killed in the incident served in the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, and The Times of Israel described the vehicle as a Puma armored combat engineering vehicle during operations in Khan Younis.
Sources: Army Recognition Northern Gaza Raid, Army Recognition Carpet in Gaza, Times of Israel Khan Younis Report, Jerusalem Post Khan Yunis Report
Role in Gaza operations
The sourced record points to a protected combat-engineering role. In the October 2023 raid, Pumas accompanied tanks and D9R bulldozers, with the engineering vehicles reported in path-clearing and terrain-preparation work. In the November 2023 CARPET report, the same vehicle type appeared as a carrier for a mine-clearing launcher used against tunnels and positions.
The Khan Yunis reporting separates documented use from wider assumptions about fleet scale. It identifies a Puma vehicle in a 605th Combat Engineering Battalion operation and describes the vehicle being struck by an explosive device, but it does not establish how many Pumas were in Gaza or whether every battalion vehicle carried the same mission equipment.
Sources: Army Recognition Northern Gaza Raid, Army Recognition Carpet in Gaza, IDF June 25 2025 Briefing, Times of Israel Khan Younis Report, Jerusalem Post Khan Yunis Report
