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JERUSALEM (AP) – The israeli military operations Experts say Gaza is now one of the deadliest and most destructive in history.
In just over two months, the invasion has wreaked more destruction than ever before Destroying Syria’s Aleppo Between 2012 and 2016, Mariupol of Ukraine Or, proportionally, the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II. It has killed more civilians in its three-year campaign than the US-led coalition combined islamic state Group.
The Israeli military has said little about what types of bombs and artillery it is using in Gaza. But analysis of blast fragments and strike footage found at the scene are confident that most of the bombs dropped in the besieged area were American-made. They say the weapons include 2,000-pound (900 kg) “bunker-busters” that have killed hundreds of people in densely populated areas.
With figures of deaths of Palestinians in Gaza approaching 20,000, The international community is calling for a ceasefire. Israel vows to move further, saying it wants to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities after the militant group 7 October violence from across the border This led to a war in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 others were taken hostage.
The Biden administration has quietly continued supplying arms to Israel. However, last week, President Joe Biden publicly acknowledged that Israel, which it used to call its own, was losing its international legitimacy “Indiscriminate bombing.”
Take a look at what is known so far about Israel’s campaign on Gaza.
How much destruction in Gaza?
Israel’s attack destroyed more than two-thirds of all structures in northern Gaza and a quarter of buildings in the southern area of Khan Yunis, according to an analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by Cory Sher and Jamon Van Den of the CUNY Graduate Center. Have given. Hoke of Oregon State University, an expert in mapping damage during war.
He said the percentage of damaged buildings in the Khan Yunis area nearly doubled in the first two weeks of Israel’s southern invasion.
It includes thousands of homes as well as schools, hospitals, mosques and shops. UN monitors have said that about 70% of school buildings across Gaza have been damaged. At least 56 damaged schools served as shelters for displaced civilians. Monitors said 110 mosques and three churches were damaged in the Israeli attacks.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian deaths by engaging militants in civilian infrastructure. Those places also shelter large numbers of Palestinians who have fled under Israeli evacuation orders.
“Gaza is now a different color from space. It’s a different texture,” said Sher, who has worked with Van den Hoek to map the destruction in several war zones from Aleppo to Mariupol.
FILE – View of the debris of a building after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. After an 11-week war in Gaza, the Israeli military campaign against Hamas is now the deadliest and most destructive in history. The Palestinian death toll is approaching 20,000 and satellite data shows a third of the structures in the small area have been destroyed. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)
How does destruction occur historically?
By some measures, the destruction in Gaza has exceeded the Allied bombing of Germany during World War II.
American military historian Robert Pape stated that, between 1942 and 1945, the Allies attacked 51 major German cities and towns, destroying about 40–50% of their urban areas. Pape said this is 10% of the buildings across Germany, compared to more than 33% in Gaza, a densely populated area of only 140 square miles (360 square kilometers).
“Gaza is one of the most intense civilian penalty campaigns in history,” Pep said. “It sits comfortably in the top quartile of the most destructive bombing campaigns of all time.”
FILE – A view of the debris of buildings hit by Israeli air strikes in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on October 11, 2023. After an 11-week war in Gaza, the Israeli military campaign against Hamas is now one of the deadliest and most destructive ever. in the history. The Palestinian death toll is approaching 20,000 and satellite data shows a third of the structures in the small area have been destroyed. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)
The 2017 offensive by the US-led coalition to drive the Islamic State group from the Iraqi city of Mosul was considered one of the most intense attacks on a city in generations. He nine months of battle About 10,000 civilians were killed, one third of them by coalition bombing, According to an Associated Press investigation at the time.
During the 2014-2017 campaign to defeat IS in Iraq, the coalition carried out about 15,000 strikes across the country, according to Airwars, a London-based independent group that tracks recent conflicts. By comparison, the Israeli military said last week it had carried out 22,000 strikes in Gaza.
What types of bombs are being used?
The Israeli military has not specified what it is using. It added that each strike is approved by legal advisers to ensure it complies with international law.
“We choose the right ammunition for each target – so that it does not cause unnecessary damage,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the military’s chief spokesman.
Weapons experts have been able to draw conclusions by analyzing blast fragments found at the site, satellite images and videos circulated on social media. They say the findings only offer a glimpse of the full scope of the air war.
FILE – Destruction from Israeli aerial bombardment is seen in Gaza City on October 11, 2023. After an 11-week war in Gaza, the Israeli military campaign against Hamas is now one of the deadliest and most destructive in history. The Palestinian death toll is approaching 20,000 and satellite data shows a third of the structures in the small area have been destroyed. (AP Photo/Adele Hana, File)
According to Amnesty International weapons investigator Brian Castner, fragments of US-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs and small diameter bombs have been found so far in Gaza.
JDAM bombs include precision-guided 1,000- and 2,000-pound (450-kg and 900-kg) “bunker-busters”.
“It turns the earth into liquid,” said Mark Garlasco, a former Pentagon defense official and U.N. war crimes investigator. “It destroys entire buildings.”
He said that detonating a 2,000-pound bomb in the open would mean “instantaneous death” for anyone within about 30 meters (100 ft). The lethal fragmentation can spread up to 365 meters (1,200 ft).
FILE – Palestinians look at the destruction of the al-Ghatshan family building after an Israeli attack in the Nusrat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 18, 2023. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas has now come to a close, after an 11-week war in Gaza, one of the deadliest and most destructive in history. The Palestinian death toll is approaching 20,000 and satellite data shows a third of the structures in the small area have been destroyed. (AP Photo/Adele Hana, File)
Urban refugee camp attacked on 31 October Jabaliya, Experts say the 2,000-pound bomb killed more than 100 civilians.
Experts have also identified SPICE (Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective) 2000-pound bomb fragments, which are equipped with GPS guidance systems to make targeting more accurate. Castner said the bombs are manufactured by Israeli defense giant Rafael, but a recent State Department release obtained for the first time the new York Times Some of the technology shown was produced in the United States.
The Israeli military is also dropping unguided “dumb” bombs. Many experts pointed to two photos posted on social media by the Israeli Air Force at the beginning of the war, which showed fighter planes loaded with unguided bombs.
Is the strategy working?
Israel says it has two goals: to destroy Hamas and to rescue the 129 hostages still held by the militants.
In the eleven-week war, Israel says it has destroyed several Hamas bases and hundreds of tunnel shafts and killed 7,000 Hamas fighters out of an estimated 30,000–40,000. Israeli leaders say intense military pressure is the only way to free more hostages.
FILE – A view of the debris of buildings hit by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on October 10, 2023. After an 11-week war in Gaza, the Israeli military campaign against Hamas is now one of the deadliest and most destructive in history. , The Palestinian death toll is approaching 20,000 and satellite data shows a third of the structures in the small area have been destroyed. (AP Photo/Fatima Shabair, File)
But some families of hostages worry that the bombing could endanger their loved ones. The hostages, who were released during a week-long ceasefire last month, said their captors moved them from one place to another to escape Israeli bombardment. Hamas claimed that several hostages were killed by Israeli bombs, although the claims could not be confirmed.
The level of destruction is so high because “Hamas is very strong within the civilian population,” said Efraim Inbar, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, a think tank. He also said that intensive bombardment of Hamas tunnels was needed to protect the advancing Israeli ground forces from attacks.
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