Editing Merkava (section)

=== Operation Cast Lead ===
{{Main|Operation Cast Lead}}
The Merkava Mark IV was used more extensively during the [[Gaza War (2008–2009)|Gaza War]], as it had been received by the IDF in increasing numbers since 2006, replacing more of the Merkava II and III versions of the tank that were in service. One brigade of Merkava IVs managed to bisect the Gaza strip in five hours without Israeli casualties. The commander of the brigade stated that battlefield tactics had been greatly revised since 2006. Tactics had also been modified to focus on [[asymmetric war|asymmetric]] or guerrilla war threats, in addition to the conventional war scenarios that the Merkava had mainly been designed to combat.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |date=August 13, 2009 |title=Security and Defense: 'The tank is one of the most technologically advanced platforms around' |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>

The IDF also deployed the Merkava II and III during the war.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=10.1525/jps.2009.XXXVIII.3.175 |title=The Israeli Arsenal Deployed against Gaza during Operation Cast Lead |journal=[[Journal of Palestine Studies]] |publisher=[[University of California Press]] on behalf of the [[Institute for Palestine Studies]] |volume=38 |issue=3 |date=Spring 2009 |page=180 |issn=1533-8614 |doi=10.1525/jps.2009.XXXVIII.3.175}}</ref>