Report: Israel Dropped 2K-Pound Bombs on Gaza Humanitarian Zone

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Facts

  • Citing three military experts, The New York Times has reported that Israel likely used 2K-pound bombs — which can cause wide civilian casualties over several hundred feet — to strike a humanitarian zone for displaced people in Al-Mawasi, near Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday, killing 19.[1][2]
  • After analyzing footage of about 50-foot-wide craters and shell fragments following the attack, the experts said that the dimensions of the craters and weapons fragments found at the scene are consistent with the tail section of a SPICE 2000 guidance kit used with 2K-pound bombs.[1]
  • However, the Israeli military said it attacked several 'senior Hamas terrorists' it alleged were operating 'within a command and control center embedded inside the humanitarian area' and using civilians as human shields. Hamas denied the accusations.[3]
  • Before it paused one shipment to Israel, the US had already sent at least 14K 2K-pound bombs to Israel just since last October. Though the US warned Israel of 'indiscriminate bombing' of the besieged enclave, the Israeli military was thought to have dropped over 500 2K-pound bombs on Gaza in the first few months of the conflict.[4][5]
  • Elsewhere, at least 14 people were killed in an Israeli attack on a UN-run school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the UN said Israeli soldiers halted a convoy involved in the polio vaccination drive, detained its staff members for over eight hours, and damaged their vehicles.[6][7][8]
  • Meanwhile, the Israeli military released footage appearing to show a tunnel in Rafah's Tel Sultan neighborhood, where it claimed Hamas militants killed six Israeli hostages last month. Additionally, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has revealed a letter he claims to be from a senior Hamas commander, detailing that the group is operating on only 20% of its initial strength.[9][10]

Sources: [1]New York Times, [2]CNN (a), [3]BBC News, [4]Reuters, [5]CNN (b), [6]Middleeastmonitor, [7]Euro, [8]Guardian, [9]Timesofisrael and [10]Ynetnews.

Narratives

  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera and Truthout. The extensive, indiscriminate use of the highly accurate 2K-pound bomb in densely populated areas designated as safe zones is cruel and amounts to crimes against humanity. Israel has been deliberately trapping Palestinians into 'humanitarian zones' only to execute them en masse using the most destructive bombs. Israel has been lying about targeting Hamas militants to excuse these heinous crimes — but killing women and children is never justified. The silence and complete disregard for these massacres is shameful.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Newsweek and Timesofisrael. Israel's use of heavy munitions is limited and necessary to eliminate Hamas. The Israeli military follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. However, for Israel to persuasively declare victory, it must target and destroy Hamas' infrastructure. The conventional wisdom about the 2K-pound bombs is misguided and unfair. The war is inherently destructive; however, vilifying Israel's use of these bombs would result in more destruction and thousands of lost lives and drag the war.

Predictions