- Nearly half of the bombs Israel has dropped in Gaza have been unguided bombs, new US intel says, per CNN.
- It’s a shocking number, but Israel hasn’t been hiding its use of “dumb” bombs or other controversial weapons.
- Photos and videos have documented Israel’s extensive and destructive bombing campaign.
Over two months after Israel began its fight against Hamas, more details about the weapons it has been using in Gaza are coming to light.
New intelligence says nearly half the explosives Israel dropped in Gaza were unguided “dumb” bombs, a staggering statistic. But while the number, equating to thousands of devastating strikes, is shocking, Israel hasn’t exactly hidden its use of the controversial weapons.
Three sources familiar with the new assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Israel’s airstrikes told CNN this week that about 40-45% of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions used in Gaza were unguided. The remainder were precision-guided weapons.
That means that Israel used upwards of over 13,000 so-called “dumb” bombs in its devastating strikes in Gaza. Such weapons, which don’t have internal guidance systems or kits to improve their aim and generally follow the trajectory at which they were dropped, have the potential to cause significant devastation beyond the intended target area.
In the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to continuous Israeli airstrikes in the wake of the 10/7 Hamas terror attacks on October 7, thousands of civilians have been killed.
Israel received some criticism for its suspected use of unguided munitions during the first week of its air campaign in Gaza. In early October, the Israeli military shared photos and videos of fighter jets taking off for bombing campaigns with what experts quickly identified as unguided “dumb” bombs.
Some open-source information accounts also documented the use, with one saying it that it suggested “the Israeli Air Force may be dipping into stocks of older, less accurate unguided munitions.” But the IDF also shared photos and videos of its bombs equipped with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) and other precision-guided weapons.
Even some of the precision weapons, due to the size of the bomb, some of which are 2,000 pounds, can do serious damage beyond the intended target.
Throughout both its air and ground campaigns in Gaza — which have wreaked havoc on the strip, displaced almost two million people according to the United Nations, and killed almost 20,000 people while injuring over 50,000, according to Gaza’s Hamas-affiliated health ministry — Israel has often downplayed international concerns over the results of its attacks.
Just Wednesday, an Israeli military spokesperson said the IDF remained “committed to international law and a moral code of conduct” and was “devoting vast resources to minimize harm to the civilians that Hamas has forced into the role of human shields.”
“Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza,” Maj. Karen Hajioff said.
Officials and experts have called Israeli statements that it is committed to protecting civilians into question, noting the extensive destruction caused by the ongoing airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza, blurring the line between what Israel may consider to be acceptable collateral damage and what is necessary for the fight against Hamas.
Even President Joe Biden has expressed concern, warning on Tuesday that Israel “has most of the world supporting it” right now, but “they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place.” Biden’s comments were a stark shift from the earlier unconditional and unwavering support for Israel.
The IDF did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on reports on the new US intelligence.
Striking targets within Gaza with unguided munitions, as the IDF has apparently done extensively, has led to massive damage in areas outside of target zones. Those “dumb” bombs can often be impacted by weather, wind, angle, other environmental factors, and the ability of the pilot and aircraft.
Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow for airpower and military technology at the Royal United Services Institute think tank,…
Read More: Israel’s Used Thousands of Unguided ‘Dumb’ Bombs in Strikes on Gaza