A latest U.S. intelligence evaluation has revealed that just about half of the air-to-ground munitions utilized by Israel in its ongoing conflict in Gaza since Oct. 7 have been unguided, or “dumb bombs.”
The evaluation, compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, estimates that about 40-45% of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions utilized by Israel have been unguided, with the rest being precision-guided munitions, reported CNN.
Unguided munitions, as a result of their lack of precision, pose a big menace to civilians, particularly in densely populated areas like Gaza. The excessive fee of utilization of those “dumb bombs” by Israel could also be contributing to the escalating civilian loss of life toll within the area.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden accused Israel of participating in “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza. When requested for touch upon the evaluation, IDF spokesperson Nir Dinar declined to deal with the kind of munitions used.
Major Keren Hajioff, one other Israeli spokesperson, mentioned Wednesday that Israel, as a navy dedicated to worldwide regulation and an ethical code of conduct, is devoting huge assets to reduce hurt to civilians.
Experts voice concren
However, consultants have expressed concern that the excessive fee of unguided munitions utilization undermines Israel’s declare of attempting to reduce civilian casualties.
Brian Castner, a former Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officer and present senior disaster adviser on arms and navy operations for Amnesty International, expressed shock and concern over the findings.
Talking to CNN he highlighted the numerous civilian hurt by the dearth of accuracy in the usage of these weapons.
The report comes at a delicate time in U.S.-Israeli relations, with a rising rift between the 2 nations over how the Israeli navy is conducting its operations in Gaza.
President Biden has acknowledged that Israel is shedding worldwide help because the loss of life toll rises, and the U.S. is changing into more and more remoted internationally for its refusal to again requires a cease-fire within the battle.
Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will start a two-day journey to Israel Thursday to conduct “extraordinarily severe conversations” with Israeli officers, in accordance with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
The discussions will deal with efforts to be extra exact in navy operations and scale back hurt to civilians.
Marc Garlasco, a former United Nations navy analyst and conflict crimes investigator, acknowledged that the usage of unguided munitions in a densely populated space like Gaza drastically will increase the possibility of lacking targets and inflicting civilian hurt.
Source: www.dailysabah.com