Gaza City, Palestine – Evidence from four weapons experts indicates that the Israeli military utilized a U.S.-made precision bomb in a strike that resulted in the deaths of at least 45 individuals in southern Gaza on Sunday. The experts made this conclusion after examining visual evidence provided to The Washington Post. Fragments of an SDB GBU-39, a small-diameter precision munition weighing 250 pounds, were discovered near the strike site on an encampment in Rafah, where witnesses reported hearing the sounds of planes overhead and multiple explosions that shook the entire city.
The strike was described by Israel as a “targeted” attack against two Hamas militants, carried out using “the smallest munition” available to Israeli fighter jets. Israel explained that the subsequent fire that erupted at the camp was unintentional and unforeseen. The possibility that secondary explosions triggered the blaze is currently under investigation. The experts who analyzed the fragments stated that their findings do not refute Israel’s claim of using a small munition.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed on Wednesday that the United States was unable to confirm the specifics of the weapons used or the manner in which they were employed in the strike. Speaking to reporters, Blinken condemned the attack as “horrific” and emphasized the profound impact it had on anyone who witnessed the images. He stressed that the U.S. has urged Israel to promptly investigate the incident.
The United States supplied Israel with 1,000 precision-guided bombs in 2023, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Despite the ongoing conflict, the Biden administration has not suspended the transfer of such munitions. Last month, the State Department approved a transfer of over 1,000 GBU-39/B small-diameter bombs on the same day that Israeli forces bombed a convoy of aid workers in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of seven individuals.
The strike on Sunday affected a logistics base for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, obliterating at least four tin structures utilized as shelters for the displaced. Satellite images from Monday provided by Planet Labs show the devastation caused by the attack. Over the past eight months, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sought refuge in Rafah as Israel’s offensive targeted the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The population in the city swelled with displaced individuals setting up tent encampments in various locations.
It remains unclear how many people were present at the camp when the strike occurred on Sunday. Upon Israel’s seizure of the Rafah border crossing earlier in the month, nearly 1 million individuals fled the city in anticipation of a broader incursion. The Israeli military emphasized that the strike occurred outside a designated “humanitarian zone,” although evacuation orders had not been issued for the specific area in Tal al-Sultan prior to the attack.
Details surrounding the munition used in the strike remained vague, with statements from both Israeli and U.S. officials indicating a desire for precision in targeting. The aftermath of the strike was described as horrific by journalist Alam Sadeq, who documented scenes of death and devastation in the camp. The impact of the strike on the civilians within the encampment raises questions about the measures taken to avoid collateral damage.