Israel bombed areas in southern Gaza that it deemed safe for civilians

By Liam On Dec 22, 2023

By Robin Stein, Haley Willis, Ishaan Jhaveri, Danielle Miller, Aaron Byrd and Natalie Reneau

During the first six weeks of the war in Gaza, Israel routinely used one of its largest and most destructive bombs in areas it deemed safe for civilians, an analysis of visual evidence by The New York Times shows.

The video investigation focuses on the use of 2,000-pound bombs in an area of southern Gaza where Israel had ordered civilians to move for safety. Although bombs of that size are used by several Western militaries, munitions experts say they are almost never dropped in densely populated areas by US forces anymore.

The Times programmed an artificial intelligence tool to scan satellite images of southern Gaza for bomb craters. Times reporters manually reviewed the search results, looking for craters about 40 feet in diameter or larger. Munitions experts say that typically only 2,000-pound bombs create craters of that size in Gaza's light sandy soil.

Ultimately, the study identified 208 craters in satellite and drone images. Due to limited satellite imagery and variations in bomb effects, there are likely many instances that were not recorded. But the findings show that 2,000-pound bombs posed a ubiquitous threat to civilians seeking safety in southern Gaza.

In response to questions about the bomb's use in southern Gaza, an Israeli military spokesman said in a statement to The Times that Israel's priority was the destruction of Hamas and that “these types of questions will be investigated at a later stage.” The spokesperson also said the IDF is “taking feasible precautions to limit harm to the civilian population.” But US officials have said Israel must do more to reduce civilian casualties in the fight against Hamas.

First print: December 23, 2023 | 12:05 pm IST