{"id":49634,"date":"2024-10-12T08:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-12T16:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=49634"},"modified":"2024-10-12T08:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-12T16:26:00","slug":"israel-used-us-supplied-bomb-in-beirut-strike-that-killed-at-least-22-lebanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/12\/israel-used-us-supplied-bomb-in-beirut-strike-that-killed-at-least-22-lebanese\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Used US-Supplied Bomb in Beirut Strike That Killed at Least 22 Lebanese"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At least one U.S.-supplied bomb was used by <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/israel\">Israel<\/a> in a Thursday night airstrike that killed at least 22 people and wounded over 115 more in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, according to a <em>Guardian<\/em> <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/oct\/11\/us-made-munition-used-in-israeli-strike-on-central-beirut-shrapnel-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">analysis<\/a> published on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The crisis, conflict, and arms division of Human Rights Watch and a former U.S. military explosives expert analyzed shrapnel from a bomb used by Israel in the strike on an apartment complex in the densely populated Basta neighborhood near central Beirut and concluded it came from a joint direct attack munition (JDAM) manufactured by Boeing.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The bolt pattern, its position, and the shape of the remnant are consistent with the tail fin of a U.S.-made JDAM guidance kit for MK80-series air-dropped munitions,&#8221; HRW senior researcher Richard Weir told <em>The Guardian<\/em>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING &#8211; The Guardian can reveal that Israel used a US-munition in its strike on central Beirut last night, its deadliest attack on the capital city since the war began a year ago &#8211; killing 22 people and wounding 115. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kyAFWmd1Pb\">https:\/\/t.co\/kyAFWmd1Pb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Will Christou (@will_christou) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/will_christou\/status\/1844778459106595191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>MK80-series JDAMs are attached to so-called &#8220;dumb&#8221; bombs ranging from 500 to 2,000 pounds to convert them into GPS-guided &#8220;smart&#8221; munitions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The use of these weapons in densely populated areas, like this one, places civilians and civilian objects in the immediate area at grave risk of immediate and lasting harm,&#8221; Weir said.<\/p>\n<p>In May, the Biden administration \u2013 which has <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/20-billion-weapons-israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">approved<\/a> tens of billions of dollars in armed aid to Israel, even as the key ally is <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/watch-live-international-court-of-justice-delivers-ruling-in-israel-genocide-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on trial for genocide<\/a> at the International Court of Justice \u2013 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israel-bombs-hold\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">suspended<\/a> transfers of 500- and 2,000-pound bombs over fears that the devastating munitions would be used in airstrikes on Rafah, the southern <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/gaza\">Gaza<\/a> city where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge.<\/p>\n<p>By that time, Israel had already dropped hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs \u2013 which the U.S. military avoids using in civilian areas because they can destroy entire city blocks \u2013 on Gaza, including in an October 31 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israel-bomb-refugee-camp\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">attack<\/a> on the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp that killed more than 120 civilians.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An Israeli airstrike killed 22 people in central Beirut yesterday. This is a fragment of a US-made munition used in the attack.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden-Harris administration gave Israel at least 3,000 of these munitions from Oct &#8211; Dec 2023 alone. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PofUocLttL\">pic.twitter.com\/PofUocLttL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stephensemler\/status\/1844801465493139770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The United Nations Human Rights Office <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israel-united-nations\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> in June that Israel&#8217;s use of 2,000-pound bombs and other U.S.-supplied weapons likely violated international law by deliberately targeting civilians in disproportionate attacks. Israeli military commanders have also been <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/gaza-civilian-casualties-2666414736\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">criticized<\/a> for using artificial intelligence-based target selection to approve bombings they know will cause high civilian casualties.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/500-pound-bombs-israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resumed<\/a> shipments of 500-pound bombs to Israel in July, while keeping the temporary proscription on 2,000-pound munitions in place.<\/p>\n<p>While Israeli forces and Hezbollah have been engaged in cross-border attacks since the armed wing of the Lebanon \u2013 based political and paramilitary group began firing rockets and other weapons at Israel in solidarity with Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, the intensity of Israel&#8217;s assault has increased dramatically since last month.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, two waves of Israeli-engineered detonations targeting thousands of pagers and other communication devices <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/exploding-pagers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">killed<\/a> dozens of people including Hezbollah members and civilians, two of them children. Later in September, Israeli forces <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/lebanon-death-toll\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unleashed<\/a> an aerial bombing campaign in Lebanon, including the September 27 strike that <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israel-lebanon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">assassinated<\/a> Hezbollah political leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior members of the group.<\/p>\n<p>Expert analysis <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2000-pound-bombs-nasrallah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concluded<\/a> that Israel used U.S.-supplied 2,000-pound bombs in the strike on a densely populated suburb of Beirut, which flattened several residential buildings.<\/p>\n<p>Lebanon&#8217;s Ministry of Public Health says that more than 2,200 people \u2013 including at least 127 children \u2013 have been killed and over 10,000 others wounded by Israeli forces since last October. Hezbollah attacks have killed 28 civilians and 39 soldiers in Israel over the same period.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres joined foreign ministers from countries including China, France, Italy, Indonesia, and Turkey, as well as human rights organizations around the world, in <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israel-un-peacekeepers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">condemning<\/a> Israeli attacks on U.N. personnel in southern Lebanon after two Indonesian U.N. peacekeepers were wounded by Israeli tank fire.<\/p>\n<p><i>Brett Wilkins is is staff writer for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">Common Dreams<\/a>. Based in San Francisco, his work covers issues of social justice, human rights and war and peace. This originally appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">CommonDreams<\/a> and is reprinted with the author\u2019s permission.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At least one U.S.-supplied bomb was used by Israel in a Thursday night airstrike that killed at least 22 people and wounded over 115 more in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, according to a Guardian analysis published on Friday. The crisis, conflict, and arms division of Human Rights Watch and a former U.S. military explosives [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-49634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"\"The Biden-Harris administration gave Israel at least 3,000 of these munitions from October-December 2023 alone,\" noted one expert."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49634"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49641,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49634\/revisions\/49641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49634"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=49634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}