Israeli bombing of Gaza most destructive in recent history: Experts
4 Min Read
In just over 2 months, 'Israel's' attack on Gaza has destroyed more than the US did in Aleppo in 4 years and more than the allied bombardment of Germany during the second world war.
-
Israeli occupation troops take positions in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 ( AP Photo)
According to analysts who spoke to the Associated Press, 'Israel's' war on Gaza is currently among the bloodiest and most devastating in recent history.
In just over two months, the attack has destroyed more than what was seen as a result of the battle in Syria's Aleppo between 2012 and 2016, Ukraine's Mariupol, or the Allied bombardment of Germany during World War II and killed more people than the fight against ISIS.
Destruction exceeds two-thirds of buildings
According to an analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by Corey Scher of the CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University, experts in mapping damage during wartime, "Israel's" offensive has destroyed more than two-thirds of all buildings in northern Gaza and a quarter of buildings in the southern area of Khan Younis.
Tens of thousands of residences, as well as schools, hospitals, mosques, and supermarkets, are included. According to UN observers, almost 70% of Gaza's school buildings have been destroyed. At least 56 destroyed schools housed displaced residents. According to the monitors, Israeli attacks destroyed 110 mosques and three churches.
According to Robert Pape, a U.S. military historian, from 1942 to 1945 allies destroyed 10% of buildings in Germany, compared to 33% in Gaza.
Pape detailed that “Gaza is one of the most intense civilian punishment campaigns in history,” calling it one of the most "devastating bombing campaigns ever.”
In 2017, the US destruction in Iraq's Mosul killed 10,000 civilians according to AP. During the three years the Iraqi Army and its allies were engaged in their invasion, they carried out a total of 15,000 strikes compared to the 22,000 strikes the Israeli occupation has carried out in Gaza so far.
prohibited weapons involved
The Israeli aggression is not limited to missiles but also includes white phosphorous bombs. White phosphorus, with its dual capability for marking, signaling, and obscuring or as an incendiary weapon, can cause severe burns to individuals and ignite structures, fields, and other civilian objects in the vicinity.
On November 7, the head of the Gaza government media office, Salama Marouf, said the Israeli occupation's aircraft, tanks, and naval vessels had bombarded the Gaza Strip with more than 30,000 tonnes of explosives, averaging 82 tonnes per square kilometer since the beginning of the aggression on October 7.
The United States supplied "Israel" with bunker buster bombs with almost one tonne of explosive warheads that were used to commit at least one known large massacre in Jabalia last month, The Wall Street Journal said in a report on December 2 citing US officials.
Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon defense official and a war crimes investigator for the U.N expressed that an explosion of a 2,000-pound bomb would mean "instant death" for anyone within 30 meters.
The IOF is also dropping "dumb" bombs that are not directed. Several observers cited two photographs taken by the IOF on social media at the outset of the war showing fighter planes armed with unguided bombs.
No accounting for civilians
The occupation has continued to claim it cares about avoiding civilian casualties, while the evidence has exposed their blatant lies.
Recently, US President Joe Biden remarked that "Israel's" indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians, is causing a decline in support from the international community.
Not only has "Israel" intentionally shown no regard for civilians in Gaza, but horrifying testimonies gathered by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor (EMM), have shown that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) carried out field executions against civilians in Palestinian homes in Gaza.
The IOF has also used snipers to target Palestinians repeatedly, and in a massive embarrassment, killed 3 Israeli captives mistaking them for Palestinians.
In fact, up to 60 Israeli captives have been killed since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip commenced, some by airstrikes while others were killed by the gunfire of Israeli special forces.
