Israeli airstrike that killed dozens in Rafah carried out using type of bomb supplied by US
During the evening of May 26th, a neighborhood in Rafah called Tel al Sultan was targeted by an airstrike from Israel.
The health ministry in Gaza controlled by Hamas reported that a minimum of 45 individuals passed away due to the intentional burning of buildings in a place where Palestinian people who were displaced lived.
Where the strike occurred
The impacted zone is situated within a proximity of 200 meters from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's hub located in the northern part of Rafah.
The recorded video and aerial photos reveal that the attack caused severe damage to the structures situated right next to a marker signifying the location of Kuwaiti Al-Salam Camp 1.
We are not sure if the constructions are included in the camp, but Kuwaiti Al-Salam Camp 1 shelters Palestinians who have been forced to move due to the ongoing fighting.
Throughout the ongoing disagreement, the nearby zone has been taken over by temporary shelters and basic dwellings that accommodate individuals who have been forced to move from their homes. Lately, the quantity of these constructions has dwindled as Palestinian nationals have left in anticipation of Israel's military invasion in Rafah.
Sky News investigated multiple videos and pictures taken by individuals who were there to get an understanding of what occurred right after the attack.
By observing a signal and other unique aspects evident in the recording captured directly after the event, it was feasible to correspond it with a recording taken during the day from the identical setting.
During the day, recognizable points in the landscape enabled us to pinpoint precisely where the incident occurred, and validate video clips taken at night from the same spot.
In the blog section, it was confirmed by Sky News that several dead bodies were recovered from ruined structures. A video footage depicts a man carrying a young child's headless corpse.
On May 27th, Planet Labs PBC's satellite images showed that four buildings were destroyed during the attack.
A high-ranking official from the Israeli military stated on May 28th that civilians had passed away due to an endeavor to eradicate two top Hamas officials. The location was near a spot where rockets had been launched.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari reported that two grenades weighing 17kg (37lb) were deployed, but he has doubts that they alone could have caused all the damage. He suggested that a fire may have been the root cause and that an investigation is currently underway to determine its origin.
The arms utilized during this attack
The video taken by a journalist from Palestine named Alamuddin Sadiq at the place where the attack happened seems to show the type of weapon utilized.
Captured on camera the day following the strike, the pieces bear a likeness to the rear portion of a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB).
As per Rahul Udoshi, who specializes in weapons at Janes, a company dealing in defence intelligence, it seems that the piece found is the tail section of GBU-39 SDB, which belongs to the Israeli Air Force. He also observed that the screw and cut section next to it are exactly identical.
After examining the identical picture, Chris Cobb-Smith, who previously served in the British army as an artillery officer and now works as the director of Chiron Resources, assessed that it was indeed a GBU-39 SDB. He went on to depict the bomb as a cutting-edge and sophisticated weapon.
A set of numbers that can be seen in the video of the weapon shows that the component was made in the United States. The five numbers "81873" match with the Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code given to the American maker Woodward, which creates parts for weapons.
CAGE codes are allotted to firms that offer different services to US government organizations. Trevor Ball, a former Army professional in explosive ordnance disposal, has agreed that using CAGE codes is a reliable method to trace the source of particular constituents.
The Sipri Arms Transfers Database stated that Israel obtained 1,000 GBU-39 bombs from the US in 2023. Reports from Bloomberg mentioned that this delivery was hastened after the Hamas attack on 7 October.
In his speech, Rear Admiral Hagari presented a recording that displays the attack from a bird's-eye view. The video pinpoints the particular constructions that were aimed at, revealing that two of the four obliterated buildings were positioned to the east, with the one adjacent to it being the first to get hit.
Hagari mentioned that their aerial surveillance was recording before the attack to lessen the impact on innocent people's lives.
The Israeli military shared a video where Sky News observed four individuals walking close to the building that was hit a few seconds later.
Before starting their attack on Rafah, Israel created a map outlining an area where people could evacuate and a zone designated for humanitarian aid.
The specific region being focused on is situated in the vicinity that falls within the boundaries of these two areas. It's the locality that has been assigned the identification number 2372 by the authorities of Israel.
