Experts Denounce the Use of U.S. Weapons in Rafah Massacres

May 29, 2024 Hour: 5:23 pm

In the most recent massacre of the Israeli occupation army against a displacement camp in Rafah on Sunday night, ammunition manufactured in the United States was used, according to an analysis by American media, released on Wednesday.

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At least 45 people were killed and more than 200 injured following a fire following the Israeli army attack on the outskirts of the southernmost city of Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health and Palestinian doctors.

Local media images showed burning areas of the camp in Rafah, with dozens of men, women and children frantically trying to find shelter from the night assault. Rescuers pulled burned bodies from the rubble, including children.

The escalation of Israeli attacks in Rafah, where some 1.3 million Palestinians were forced by Tel Aviv to move before Israel began its operation there, has provoked rapid international condemnation, and United Nations agencies, aid groups and multiple governments have called on Israel to immediately stop its offensive.

2/ than that used previously. According to this report by a major in the US airforce, 22kg of AFX 757 = 87kg of explosives previously used. In other words, 17kg may sound small, but it’s enough to generate a powerful explosion. Smaller weapons = lighter https://t.co/h2n0W454zw pic.twitter.com/xssRpElRPp

— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones)
May 29, 2024

In footage taken at the scene of Sunday’s attack on Rafah, four explosive weapons experts identified the tail of an American-made GBU-39 small diameter bomb (SDB).

According to explosive weapons expert Chris Cobb-Smith, “the use of any ammunition, even this size, will always involve risks in a densely populated area”.

However, US President Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN earlier this month that he would not allow certain types of US weapons to be used in a major offensive in Rafah.

The United States has long been Israel’s largest supplier of arms, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and that support has continued despite growing political pressure on the Biden administration over the Gaza offensive.

Last month, Biden signed a foreign aid bill that included $26 billion for the Zionist genocide, including $15 billion in Israeli military aid, $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and $2.4 billion for US regional military operations.