Israel often uses the heaviest bombs in this Gaza war

Rarely has an area this century been bombed as heavily as the Gaza Strip by Israel in the last two months. The toll is dire: according to the Palestinian authorities, more than 17,000 people have been killed, although they make no distinction between civilians and fighters. Israel estimates the number of Hamas members killed at 5,000. Satellite images show that in North Gaza, where the fighting was heaviest, more than sixty percent of all buildings were severely damaged. reported the Financial Times this week.

The death toll is remarkably high compared to other conflicts. “During the bombings that NATO carried out in Libya in 2011, a total of 7,700 bombs were dropped,” says Marc Garlasco, by telephone from New York. He is a military advisor to the Dutch PAX and previously worked in the intelligence department of the Pentagon. “About a hundred people were killed in Libya. That was because NATO imposed many more restrictions on killing people.”

The enormous air pressure kills everyone within 30 meters instantly

Not only does Israel bomb a lot, it also uses very heavy bombs, especially the devastating GBU-31 (GBU stands for Guided Bomb Unit), which weighs more than 900 kilos. “The GBU-31 contains 429 kilos of explosives and its effect is grim,” said Garlasco. “The explosion and the enormous air pressure kill everyone within a radius of thirty meters, but even within a radius of more than 350 meters flying fragments can still be fatal, and people can be injured up to 1,150 meters.”

The satellite (GPS) guided GBU-31 is a ‘smart’ bomb that can also collapse large apartment buildings without difficulty. The bomb causes a seismic shock upon impact, which buildings cannot withstand. After the explosion, fragments of the bomb, as well as remains of the building, flew in all directions at supersonic speed. “The Israelis know exactly the effects of these bombs,” Garlasco said. “Their computer programs indicate how many deaths are expected to occur. They know that.”

Other experts have also noticed the ease with which Israel deploys these heaviest bombs. Across the Financial Times Janina Dill, professor of global security at Oxford, called it “striking how often the Israeli army uses 2,000-pound (907 kilo) bombs.” An American source confided The New York Times last month that in the first two weeks, 90 percent of what was fired over Gaza were 454 and 907 kilo bombs. For example, the Jabalia refugee camp was hit by two GBU-31s. Bomb fragments can often later be used to determine which type was used.

The big question is why Israel uses such heavy bombs, where the chance of civilian deaths is much greater than with lighter weapons that are often more precise. Other air forces are generally more reluctant to do so. The Dutch air force does not use them. Israel also used the GBU-31s only sparingly in the Gaza Strip during the 2014 war. Ukraine has also received them.

Garlasco assumes that the ease with which Israel now chooses the GBU-31 is related to the shock caused by the massacre by Hamas on October 7. Israel appears prepared to blow up an entire building if it suspects that a wanted Hamas leader resides there. “A second reason could be Hamas’ tunnels. They may hope that they will collapse due to that seismic shock wave.”

In the north, Hamas resistance has almost been broken, most of the commanders there have been killed

The tunnels are the heart of Hamas’ defense. The movement has constructed an underground labyrinth at all levels of depth. Israel reported that it had already discovered eight hundred tunnels, five hundred of which are said to have been destroyed by now. In addition, his bombings are said to have been partly aimed at destroying the fans and generators for the tunnels. Israel is also said to be considering filling the tunnels with seawater to drive out Hamas fighters. reported The Wall Street Journal last weekalthough this could damage the environment in the Gaza Strip for a longer period of time.

Israel does not yet know everything about the tunnels. These pose a major challenge for the Israeli army, agrees Kobi Michael, researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “But we have good intelligence and it is improving thanks to hundreds of Hamas fighters we have captured.” According to Michael, the Israeli goals in Gaza are within reach: “In the north, Hamas resistance has almost completely broken down, most of the commanders there have been killed. Now the battle is focusing on Khan Younis, the main center of gravity in the South. If Israel also manages to break the resistance there, Hamas will be over.”

Michael is not impressed by criticism from abroad that Israel uses disproportionate force. “We have learned lessons in the North,” he says. “We warn citizens via their phones where it will become unsafe. Israel cares more than anyone else about the fate of its citizens. What other country gives advance warning that a certain place is being bombed?”

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A displaced Palestinian family who fled Khan Yunis, a town in southern Gaza, camps on the street in Rafah, near the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt, on December 6.” class=”dmt-article-suggestion__image” src=”https://images.nrc.nl/AdfNR68S388QPqD-qRMCWAciBeI=/160×96/smart/filters:no_upscale()/s3/static.nrc.nl/bvhw/files/2023/12/data108888899-eeabc1.jpg”/>

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