Gaza breakdown: 20 times Israel used US arms in likely war crimes
The following cases represent a small fraction
of potential human rights violations committed with American planes, shells,
and bombs
ANALYSIS | MIDDLE EAST
Regions Middle East Israel-Gaza
STEPHEN SEMLER
AUG 26, 2024
The Biden administration recently approved five major arms sales to Israel for
F-15 fighter aircraft, tank ammunition, tactical vehicles, air-to-air missiles,
mortar rounds, and related equipment for each. Though technically sales,
most if not all of this matériel is paid for by U.S. taxpayers — Israel uses much
of the military aid Congress approves for it effectively as a gift card to buy
U.S.-made weapons.
The total value of the five weapons sales exceeds $20.3 billion.
More extraordinary than the price tag of these arms deals is that the White
House made them public. Prior to last week’s announcements, it had
disclosed just two arms sales to Israel. By March, the Biden administration
had already greenlit more than 100 separate weapons deals for Israel, or
about one every 36 hours, on average. The administration presumably kept
the value of each arms deal “under threshold” to avoid having to notify
Congress.
From 2017 to 2019, the U.S. had approved thousands of below-threshold
arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth a total of
$11.2 billion. Exploiting this loophole helped the Trump administration avoid
scrutiny of its enabling of a devastating and indiscriminate bombing
campaign in Yemen. The Biden administration appears to be following the
same playbook for the destruction it is enabling in Gaza.
The White House isn’t shy about publicizing arms transfers to other
countries. For example, it has been very transparent about the military aid it
sent Ukraine since February 2022. Biden promotes arming Ukraine as
industrial policy, marketing the military aid as a boon for domestic
manufacturing and jobs. The Pentagon not only itemizes what specific
matériel the U.S. sends to Ukraine, but also shows on a map where in the
U.S. those weapons and equipment are made.
By contrast, nearly all the publicly available information on U.S. arms
transfers to Israel comes from leaks reported by the media. The Biden
administration says very little about the weapons it delivers to Israel or how
the Israeli military uses them. The following analysis is intended to shed light
on both. In doing so, it helps explain why the Biden administration prefers to
arm Israel in secret.
What follows is a non-exhaustive list of attacks by the Israeli military since
October 7 that likely violated international law, grouped by the type of U.S.-
supplied weapon involved in the attack.
In order for an attack to be listed below, there must be sufficient evidence
that it violated international law. In all of the following cases, it’s at least more
likely than not that the attack was a violation. Many of them almost certainly
were in breach of international law. This is a very high threshold — as former
State Department lawyer Brian Finucane wrote in Foreign Affairs, “The law of
war permits vast death and destruction. This is true even under restrictive
interpretations of the law.”
Furthermore, in order for an attack to be listed, there must be concrete
forensic evidence that a U.S.-supplied weapon was likely used to commit the
probable violation of international law. Only the types of weapons the U.S.
has reportedly delivered to Israel since October 7 are considered. This report
draws from forensic investigations that have been conducted by reputable
international organizations, civil society groups, media outlets, and
independent analysts.
The following 20 incidents represent a small fraction of potential war crimes
committed with U.S.-provided weapons. First, information gathering and fact
finding is extremely difficult. Israel restricts U.N. and NGO access to Gaza
and doesn’t cooperate with investigations into misuse of U.S.-supplied arms.
Members of the press are routinely denied access or attacked: Since
October 2023, 116 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli
airstrikes or sniper fire in Gaza, representing 86 percent of all those killed
worldwide, according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Prolonged communication blackouts are commonplace in Gaza.
Second, Israel’s military campaign relies on U.S. weapons, and so U.S.
matériel is involved in nearly every facet of Israel’s campaign. For example,
Israel uses U.S.-made aircraft like the F-35, F-16, and F-15 to drop U.S.-
made bombs, including the MK-84 (2,000 pounds), MK-83 (1,000 pounds),
MK-82 (500 pounds), and 250-pound “small diameter” bombs, which can be
fitted with U.S.-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits.
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The vast majority of bombs Israel drops on Gaza are U.S.-made. The U.S.
even provides Israel with jet fuel. The U.S. has sent so many arms to Israel
since October 7 that the Pentagon has struggled to find sufficient cargo
aircraft to deliver the matériel.
Third, Israel’s campaign is historically destructive. In the three weeks after
October 7, Israel dropped an average of 6,000 bombs on Gaza per week. By
comparison, U.S. and coalition forces dropped on average 488 bombs per
week on ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria during Operation Inherent Resolve
(OIR) between August 2014 and March 2019. OIR caused immense civilian
harm — particularly in densely-populated areas like Mosul and Raqqa — but
the scale of death and destruction doesn’t come close to what Israel has
done in Gaza.
A former high-ranking officer in the Israeli military told Haaretz that Israeli
forces could have made as much progress as they have so far in Gaza with
one-tenth of the destruction. This “unusually wasteful” and “reckless”
conduct “reflects an absolute assumption that the U.S. will continue to arm
and finance it,” he is quoted as saying.
What’s more, according to reporting, Israel has used an Artificial Intelligence
program called “Lavender” to generate an unprecedented number of
bombing targets with minimal human oversight. The AI program is coded
with instructions that appear inconsistent with international law and is
deployed with little to no human oversight.
The Biden administration acknowledges that Israel likely broke human rights
law with U.S.-supplied weapons, but claims it doesn’t have enough evidence
to link U.S.-supplied weapons to specific violations that would warrant
cutting off military aid to Israel. As national security adviser Jake Sullivan told
CBS, “We do not have enough information to reach definitive conclusions
about particular incidents or to make legal determinations, but we do have
enough information to have concern…Our hearts break about the loss of
innocent Palestinian life.”
None of that is believable. As this report demonstrates, there is more than
enough available information. If the Biden administration is truly concerned
about the loss of innocent Palestinian life in Gaza, it can stop Israel’s
atrocities by denying it the tools it needs to commit them.
MK-84 and other 2,000-pound bombs
Amount delivered since October 7: At least 14,100 (as of June 28). The U.S.
sent Israel at least 14,000 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs from early October to
late June. Another shipment 1,800 MK-84s is pending: The White House
approved their transfer in March, but then paused shipping them in May. The
U.S. also delivered 100 2,000-pound BLU-109 bunker-buster bombs
between October 7 and December 1.
By mid-December, the Biden administration had already provided Israel with
more than 5,000 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, four times heavier than the
largest bombs the U.S. dropped in Syria and Iraq in its war against ISIS. In the
first month of its military offensive in Gaza, Israeli forces dropped more than
500 2,000-pound bombs, more than 40 percent of which were dropped in
Israeli-designated safe zones. Six weeks into the war, Israel had dropped
2,000-pound bombs in areas to which it had instructed civilians to flee more
than 200 times.
October 9, 2023: Israeli airstrikes hit a busy market in Jabalia refugee camp,
killing at least 69 people. The market was more crowded than usual because
people were in the process of fleeing their homes at the instruction of the
Israeli military. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights
(OHCHR) analysis reported that “one or two GBU-31 air dropped munitions
were used” and found no military objective to justify the strike. The GBU-31
is made from a U.S.-made 2,000-pound MK 84 or BLU-109 bomb and a
JDAM guidance kit. Neither U.N. OHCHR nor Amnesty International found
evidence of a military target at the time of the attack. Even if there was a
legitimate military target, the scale of destruction indicates the Israeli
military’s attack was disproportionate. Disproportionate attacks are war
crimes — international law prohibits attacks that are expected to cause
excessive civilian harm compared to the direct and provable military
advantage anticipated from the attack.
October 17, 2023: After the Israeli military told Gazans to flee to Khan Yunis
for their safety, it bombed the al-Lamdani family house in Khan Yunis.
Between 15 and 40 people were killed in the attack. Remnants of a U.S.-
made MK-84 2,000-pound bomb were found at the site
October 25, 2023: Israeli airstrikes flattened at least 5,700 square meters in
the Al Yarmouk neighborhood of Gaza City, killing at least 91 people,
including 39 children. A U.N. assessment determined that “several” 2,000-
pound GBU-31s air-dropped munitions were likely dropped by Israeli forces
in the attack. According to a report from U.N. OHCHR, “The use of a GBU-31
or a GBU-32, in such densely populated areas in the middle of residential
neighborhoods when extensive civilian harm would be foreseeable, raises
very serious concerns that those attacks were disproportionate and/or
indiscriminate, and that no or insufficient precautions were taken.”
October 31, 2023: After Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia, Gaza’s largest refugee
camp, a nearby hospital said it received 400 casualties, including 120 dead,
most of whom were women and children. An analysis of the site showed at
least five craters, the largest one likely from a GBU-31. The GBU-31 is made
from a JDAM and either a 2,000-pound BLU-109 or MK-84 bomb. According
to reports, Israeli forces gave no warning before the attack, and no effort was
made to evacuate the residential buildings. U.N. OHCHR said the attack on
Jabalia refugee camp could amount to a war crime.
January 13, 2024: Israeli forces dropped a U.S.-made MK-84 2,000-pound
bomb from a U.S.-made F-16 aircraft on a house in Deir al-Balah but it didn’t
explode. A second airstrike did destroy the home, leaving an approximately
40-foot size crater, characteristic of a 2,000-pound bomb with a delayed
fuse. The Israeli military had designated Deir al-Balah as a safe zone in
October. Israeli forces instructed Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee there
on December 11 and told Palestinians in central Gaza the same thing on
December 22. By mid-January, Israeli bombing had leveled entire city blocks
and dozens of family homes in Deir al-Balah.
GBU-39 and other ‘small diameter’ bombs
Amount delivered since October: At least 2,600 (as of June). More than
2,000 of these “small-diameter” bombs are 250-pound GBU-39 munitions.
After Israel received an expedited shipment of 1,000 Boeing-made GBU-39s
in early October, the Biden administration approved the transfer of more than
1,000 GBU-39 bombs for Israel on April 1, the same day that Israeli forces
bombed a World Central Kitchen convoy, killing seven aid workers. It’s likely
that far more GBU-39s have been delivered to Israel than the amount listed
here.
Purportedly out of concern for Palestinian civilians, the Biden administration
is urging the Israeli military to use more 250-pound GBU-39s and fewer less-
precise 2,000-pound bombs. The result appears to have been a surge in
possible war crimes committed with GBU-39s. The relative size of bombs
doesn’t matter much if Israeli forces disregard fundamental rules governing
targeting in international law, including distinction, precautions, and
proportionality. As retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant Wes Bryant told the
New York Times, “While they’re using smaller bombs, they’re still deliberately
targeting where they know there are civilians.”
Boeing markets its GBU-39 as a “low collateral damage” precision weapon.
Echoing Boeing, White House spokesperson John Kirby said Israel’s use of
these 250-pound bombs is “certainly indicative of an effort to be discreet
and targeted and precise.” The blast from a GBU-39 bomb can kill or injure
people over 1,000 feet away, and shrapnel from the bomb’s steel casing can
kill or injure anyone within 570 feet.
January 9, 2024: Israeli forces bombed a residential building in a
neighborhood the Israeli military had repeatedly ordered displaced Gazans to
flee to. The attack killed 18 people, including 10 children, and wounded at
least eight others. Israeli forces gave no warning to evacuate. An
investigation found no evidence that the building or anyone in it could be
considered a legitimate military target. The Israeli government has yet to give
a reason for the strike. Fragments from a U.S.-made Boeing GBU-39 were
recovered from the rubble.
May 13, 2024: Israeli forces bombed a school housing displaced civilians in
Nuseirat, killing up to 30 people. A tail fin of a U.S.-made GBU-39 was
recovered at the location of the strike
(Credit above @AlQastalps)
May 26, 2024: An Israeli airstrike on a displacement camp in Rafah filled with
makeshift tents killed at least 46 people — including 23 women, children and
older adults — and injured more than 240 others. The tail of a U.S.-made
GBU-39 bomb was recovered at the site of the attack. The “81873” on the
munition fragment is the identifier code the U.S. government assigned to
Woodward, a Colorado-based manufacturer that supplies bomb parts,
including the GBU-39. The State Department refused to acknowledge that
this was a U.S.-made weapon. Israeli forces claimed munitions stored at the
camp caused most of the devastation, but there is no evidence of a weapons
cache present.
(Credit above: @trbrtc/Alam Sadeq)
June 6, 2024: At least two GBU-39 munitions were used in an Israeli airstrike
on the UN-run al-Sardi school in Nusreit, central Gaza. At least 40 people
were killed in the strike, including nine women and 14 children. About 6,000
displaced Palestinians were sheltering at the school when it was bombed.
The Israeli military denied that there were any civilian casualties. Israeli
human rights group B’Tselem said the attack is a possible war crime. A U.S.-
made navigation device manufactured by Honeywell was also documented at
the site.
August 10, 2024: More than 100 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike
on al-Tabin school in Gaza City, which was being used to shelter displaced
people. The Israeli military said it used “precise munitions.” Paramedics who
arrived at the scene said they found bodies “ripped to pieces” and that many
bodies were unidentifiable. Parents reported difficulty identifying their
deceased children. Remnants of at least two Boeing-made GBU-39 small
diameter bombs were identified at the scene. Two investigations found no
evidence that the school was being used for military operations, as the Israeli
military claimed. The list of fighters the Israeli army alleged it killed in the
strike included several people who had previously been listed as deceased
and civilians with no known military ties.
Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM)
Amount delivered since October 7: At least 3,000 (as of December 1).
October 10, 2023: An Israeli airstrike on the al-Najjar family home in Deir al-
Balah killed 24 civilians. The code stamped on a recovered munition
fragment, 70P862352, indicates that a U.S.-supplied JDAM was used in the
attack. The Boeing-made guidance kit was likely fitted to a 2,000-pound
bomb. Survivors said Israel gave civilians no warning of an imminent strike.
Amnesty International said the attack must be investigated as a war crime.
(Credit: Private/Amnesty International)
October 22, 2023: An Israeli airstrike on the Abu Mu’eileq family home in Deir
al-Balah killed 19 people, including 12 children. The home was located in the
area to which the Israeli military had ordered residents of northern Gaza to
flee on October 13. The code stamped on the recovered scrap, 70P862352,
is associated with JDAMs and Boeing. The Boeing-made JDAM kit was fitted
to a bomb that weighed at least 1,000-pounds. Survivors said Israel gave no
warning of an imminent strike. Amnesty International said the attack must be
investigated as a war crime.
(Credit: Private/Amnesty International)
March 27, 2024: An Israeli strike on the Emergency and Relief Corps of the
Lebanese Succour Association, a humanitarian organization, killed seven
emergency and relief volunteers in southern Lebanon. The strike used a U.S.-
made JDAM guidance kit affixed to an Israeli-made 500-pound bomb.
Human Rights Watch said that the incident should be investigated as a war
crime.
July 13, 2024: An Israeli strike on the Al-Mawasi — an Israeli military-
designated “safe zone” — killed over 90 people and injured hundreds more.
Remnants of a U.S.-made JDAM were found at the scene. Based on the size
of the fin fragment, the JDAM was likely fitted to either a 1,000- or 2,000-
pound bomb.
Hellfire missiles
Amount delivered: At least 3,000 (as of June 28)
June 8, 2024: Israel’s operation to rescue four hostages in the Nuseirat
refugee camp in central Gaza killed nearly 300 Palestinians. A witness
reported Israeli attack helicopters launching many strikes in Nuseirat and
surrounding areas. Another witness said 150 rockets fell in less than 10
minutes. Remnants of at least two U.S.-made Hellfire missiles were found in a
damaged residential building. Video shows U.S.-made Apache helicopters
firing several Hellfire missiles into the Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli
military also bombed a busy market several blocks south of where the Israeli
hostages were kept, and in the opposite direction of the evacuation route.
U.N. OHCHR said the raid “seriously calls into question whether the
principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution — as set out under
the laws of war — were respected by the Israeli forces.”
June 23, 2024: An Israeli airstrike on a health clinic in Gaza City killed five
people, including Hani al-Jaafarawi, Gaza’s director of ambulances and
emergency. He was reportedly the 500th medical worker killed during Israel’s
military campaign in Gaza. The rocket motor of a U.S.-supplied Hellfire
missile was recovered at the health care center.
July 14, 2024: Hundreds of Palestinians were taking refuge at the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Abu
Oraiban school when it was hit by an Israeli airstrike, killing at least 22
people. The Israeli military issued no warning to the displaced people
sheltering there before the attack. U.S.-made Hellfire missile fragments were
found at the school, including part of its guidance system and motor.
(Remnants of a Boeing-made GBU-39’s tail section were also recovered at
the site.)
(Credit above: @Easybakeovensz)
120mm tank shells
Amount delivered since October 7: At least 13,981. A day after the U.S.
vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and
the unconditional release of hostages, the White House notified Congress on
December 8 that it had approved the sale of 13,981 120mm M830A1 high-
explosive tank cartridges to Israel.
The Biden administration invoked an emergency authority to bypass the
congressional review period. Because the shells were sourced from U.S.
Army inventory, they could be transferred immediately to Israel.
The day before, Reuters, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International all
published investigations providing evidence that an Israeli tank likely
deliberately fired two Israeli-made 120mm shells at a group of journalists in
southern Lebanon in October, killing one Reuters journalist and injuring six
others. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said the
incident was an apparent war crime. Israeli tanks have also struck hospitals
and humanitarian shelters using 120mm tank rounds. On August 13, the
Biden administration notified Congress that it approved a $774 million arms
sale to Israel for 32,739 120mm tank cartridges.
January 29, 2024: Six-year-old Hind Rajab was the only survivor in her
family’s car after Israeli tanks opened fire. Over the phone, Hind begged
rescue workers to come save her. The Palestine Red Crescent Society
dispatched an ambulance with two emergency workers. At least one Israeli
tank opened fire, killing both paramedics. A fragment of a U.S.-made
M830A1 120mm tank round was documented at the scene.
155mm artillery shells
Amount delivered: At least 57,000 (as of December 1). This total includes
thousands of 155mm rounds originally for Ukraine that the Biden
administration diverted to Israel in October. Netanyahu specifically requested
155mm artillery shells from U.S. lawmakers in mid-November.
Around the same time, more than 30 organizations urged the Biden
administration to not supply Israel with these munitions because their
inaccuracy and 100-300 meter casualty radius make them “inherently
indiscriminate” in the Gaza context. “It is difficult to imagine a scenario in
which high explosive 155mm artillery shells could be used in Gaza in
compliance with [international humanitarian law],” the organizations wrote.
On December 29, the White House notified Congress that it approved the
sale of an additional 57,021 155mm shells to Israel. The Biden administration
invoked an emergency authority to bypass the congressional review period.
Israeli forces will likely fire these rounds from U.S.-made howitzers. The
Israeli military announced earlier that month it fired over 100,000 artillery
rounds during the first 40 days of its ground invasion of Gaza, adding that
artillery plays a “central role” by providing “intense fire cover” for its ground
forces.
October 16: Israeli forces fired 155mm artillery shells containing white
phosphorus into Dhayra, southern Lebanon. At least nine civilians were killed
and civilian property was damaged. Lot production codes found on the shells
indicate they were made in the US. Amnesty International said the attack was
indiscriminate and must be investigated as a war crime.
(Credit above: White phosphorus fired by Israeli army to create a smoke
screen, is seen on the Israel-Lebanon border in northern Israel, November 12,
2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
Armored vehicles
Amount delivered since October 7: Unknown. The Israeli Ministry of Defense
reported on October 19 that U.S. Air Force cargo airplanes delivered the first
tranche of U.S.-made David light armored vehicles, part of a $22 million arms
deal from April 2023.
November 14, 2023: The first photo below from the Israeli Ministry of
Defense shows David light armor vehicles after being unloaded from a U.S.
Air Force C-17 at Ben Gurion Airport on October 19. The second photo shows
Israeli forces using David light armor vehicles to obstruct an ambulance en
route to a hospital on November 14, arresting the wounded person inside.
International humanitarian law prohibits attacks on and obstruction of
medical transport.
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