During the first six weeks of its war in Gaza, Israel dropped 2,000-pound explosives, including U.S.-made MK-84 bombs, “at least 200 times” on locations in southern Gaza it said were safe for civilians, according to a visual investigation by The New York Times. Weapons experts say these large bombs are no longer used by the U.S. military in densely populated areas, the Times reported. The study applied artificial intelligence technology to review satellite images of southern Gaza and look for impact craters. When the Times raised concerns about bombings in the region to an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, they said the military wing was focused on eliminating Hamas and insisted that “questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage.” They added that the IDF “takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.” Although the Pentagon has sent Israel more small bombs it deems as more fit for Israel’s war effort, the Times reported that the U.S. has sent over 5,000 MK-84 bombs to the country since October.
