The strikes hit the Basta neighborhood, which is full of residential buildings and shops in the heart of BeirutNote that the Israeli army did not issue evacuation warnings before the attack.
Lebanese security sources said that the target of the attack was Wafiq Safa, head of the Hezbollah Liaison and Coordination Unit responsible for working with the Lebanese security services, noting that Sky News Arabia sources confirmed that he was injured in the raid.
According to a fragmentation analysis conducted by the Guardian at the site of the attack, American-made munitions were used in the raid, which destroyed a residential building and cars and damaged nearby buildings.
The strike is the bloodiest on the Lebanese capital since the start of the conflict between… Israel And Hezbollah a year ago.
On Friday afternoon, the British newspaper’s correspondents found the remains of a munition operating with a system known as “JDAM”, which is manufactured by the United States, in the rubble of the collapsed residential building.
“JDAM” is a guidance system manufactured by the American company “Boeing”, which is installed on what is known as large “dumb bombs” weighing up to two thousand pounds (about 900 kilograms), with the aim of converting them into bombs guided by the Global Positioning System (GPS).
According to the Guardian, the remnants of the ammunition were verified by the Crisis, Conflict and Weapons Division of Human Rights Watch, and a former bomb expert in the US Army.
After seeing the photo of the shrapnel, the researcher in the Crises, Conflicts and Weapons Department said, “Human Rights WatchRichard Ware, “The bolt pattern, location, and shape of the residue are consistent with the tail fin of a US-made guidance mechanism (JDAM) operating with the Mk 80 series bombs.”
The Mk 80 series, which is air-dropped, includes 3 categories of bombs, the smallest of which weighs 500 pounds (about 227 kilograms), and the largest of which weighs 2,000 pounds (about 900 kilograms).
“The use of these weapons in densely populated areas directly places civilians and civilian objects at serious risk of immediate and permanent harm,” Ware added.
American weapons are essential in Israel’s war on… Gaza Strip And Lebanon, where JDAM munitions specifically were among the most sought after by Israel.
Thursday’s attack represents the first time the use of American-made munitions has been confirmed in an attack on central Beirut since 2006.
The United States has been heavily criticized for its ongoing military aid to Israel, which amounted to $17.9 billion last year.
Last September, more than a dozen human rights organizations signed a joint letter to the US President Joe Bidencalling on him to stop arms exports to Israel, citing the use of American munitions in attacks against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel is currently facing a case in the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in its war on Gaza.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health says that more than 2,100 people were killed and more than 10,000 others were injured during more than a year of hostilities in Lebanon, most of them in Israeli raids during the past few weeks.
According to the Lebanese government, Israel’s expanded operations have displaced more than 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes.
