US-made bombs reportedly used in strike on Rafah refugee camp that killed 45

29 May 2024 , 08:06

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Palestinians examine the destroyed makeshift tents and collect usable items after Israeli army attacks (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

US-made bombs were used in the deadly Israeli strike on a refugee camp in Gaza that killed 45, including women and children, reports suggest.

Horrific footage taken in the aftermath of the bombing near the city of Rafah on Sunday shows a wailing man holding the headless remains of a child torn apart by the bombing. A terrifying fire broke out in the aftermath of the strike claiming the lives of at least 45 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

In a statement given on May 28, a senior Israeli military official claimed the civilian deaths were a result of attempts to kill two senior members of Hamas. They say that the site is close to an area used to launch rockets and the Israeli strike may have ignited Hamas munitions.

READ MORE: Israeli tanks reach centre of Rafah as a million flee 'hell on Earth' city

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp area housing internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27 (AFP via Getty Images)

The tent camp inferno has drawn widespread international outrage, including from some of Israel’s closest allies, over the military’s expanding offensive into Rafah. In a sign of Israel’s growing isolation on the world stage, Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday.

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Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has said two 17kg (37lb) bombs were used in the deadly strike claiming they could not have caused a fire of that size. The strike or the subsequent fire could also have ignited fuel, cooking gas canisters or other materials in the camp. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the fire was the result of a “tragic mishap.”

Smoke rises over different parts of Gaza (Anadolu via Getty Images)

But Palestinian journalist Alamuddin Sadiq took footage at the scene appearing to show the twisted remnants of the bombs used, resembling the tail section of a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB).

Speaking to Sky, Rahul Udoshi, a weapons specialist at the defence intelligence company Janes, explained the fragment "appears to be tail section of GBU-39 SDB (of Israeli Air Force stock)." Noting the similarity, Udoshi pointed out "the screw and cut section next to that", which he described as an "exact match".

Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member also identified the fragment as being from a GBU-39, reports CNN.

Palestinians mourn by the bodies of relatives killed after an Israeli strike on May 27 (AFP via Getty Images)

He said: “The warhead portion [of the bomb] is distinct, and the guidance and wing section is extremely unique compared to other munitions. Guidance and wing sections of munitions are often the remnants left over even after a munition detonates. I saw the tail actuation section and instantly knew it was one of the SDB/GBU-39 variants.”

According to the Sipri Arms Transfers Database, Israel received 1,000 of these weapons from the US as recently as 2023 with Bloomberg reporting at the time that the delivery was accelerated following the October 7 Hamas attack.

Israel’s assault on Rafah, launched May 6, spurred more than 1 million people to flee the city, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees said Tuesday. Most were already displaced multiple times in the nearly eight-month war between Israel and Hamas. Families are now scattered across makeshift tent camps and other war-ravaged areas.

A Palestinian man inspects the damage in his apartment (AFP via Getty Images)

The strikes over the past few days have hit areas west of Rafah, where the military had not ordered civilians to evacuate. Israeli ground troops and tanks have been operating in eastern Rafah, in central parts of the city, and along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Shelling late Monday and early Tuesday hit Rafah’s western Tel al-Sultan district, killing at least 16 people, the Palestinian Civil Defense and the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Seven of the dead were in tents next to a U.N. facility about about 200 meters (yards) from the site of Sunday’s fire.

Charlie Jones