Weapons on sale: Gaza carnage is Made in America

Addressing pro-Palestine protesters at a campaign rally on August 9, US presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke favourably of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The same day, however, the US State Department announced it had approved another $3.5 billion for Israel to spend on US-manufactured weapons in anticipation of potential retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah.

This amount is part of the $14.5 billion in military aid for Israel approved by the US House of Representatives in November 2023. It is separate from the $3.8 billion the country already receives annually from Washington in military assistance.

The next day, on August 10, an Israeli air strike on a mosque inside a school killed over 100 people in Gaza City. Through video and expert analysis, CNN concluded that “at least one US-manufactured precision-guided bomb” was used in the strike: the GBU-39, also known as the small-diameter bomb. The bomb is manufactured by Boeing, which marketed it as a “low-cost, precision strike weapon system”, despite being responsible for scores of civilian deaths in the densely-populated enclave.

The US continues to be Israel’s biggest weapons supplier, with private companies like Boeing, AeroVironment and AM General profiting from the bloodshed. In December, the State Department approved the “emergency sale” of nearly 14,000 High Explosive Anti-Tank rounds to Israel, bypassing Congress. That same month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also approved Israel’s request for nearly 5000 rounds of M107 155-mm artillery ammunition; over 52,000 rounds of 155-mm artillery ammunition; and 30,000 M4 propelling charges, along with technical and logistic support.

Between October and June, the US reportedly transferred “at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions.”

Other US-manufactured weapons used on the people of Gaza over the last ten months have included F-35 aircraft and BLU-109 “bunker buster” bombs.

Bunker busters bore through the ground, go several metres deep and then explode, unleashing shock waves that cause destruction far and wide. The impact can bring down buildings as large as New York’s Empire State Building.

According to Amnesty International USA, these weapons sales are in violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws and must be halted immediately.

In May, the State Department did concede that “Israel may have used American-supplied weapons in breach of international humanitarian law in some instances during the war in Gaza,” according to a BBC report. “But it added that the US did not have complete information in its assessment and that shipments could continue.”

Some catastrophic attacks in Gaza linked to US-manufactured weapons:

October 10, 2023: An Israeli air strike killed 24 people in one house in Deir al-Balah. A few days later, on October 22, a second strike killed 19 people in another house in the same city. According to a report published by Amnesty, the remnants of US-manufactured JDAM kits were found at both sites. “Codes found on fragments of the JDAM kits link back to Boeing, which has reportedly been speeding up the delivery of JDAMs to Israel in recent weeks,” Time magazine reported.

October 31, 2023: Israel used two 2,000-pound bombs in an airstrike on Jabaliya refugee camp, according to analysis of satellite images and videos by The New York Times. The bombs killed over 195 people and injured over 777. “Israel routinely used one of its biggest and most destructive bombs in areas it designated safe for civilians,” the investigation stated.

May 26, 2024: At least 45 people were killed and over 200 injured in one of the most horrific attacks. One of the dead included 18-month-old Ahmad Al-Najjar, whose headless body was held up for the world to see. Now known as the Rafah Tent Massacre, a camp for internally displaced people was struck and tents caught on fire, leading to several people being burned alive. According to several experts, who examined images of shrapnel, the deaths were caused by GBU-39 munitions made in the US.

June 6, 2024: At least 40 people were killed in an airstrike on UNRWA-run school for displaced people in Nuseirat camp. CNN and NYT analysis of video footage from the scene found that it was once again American-made GBU-39S, as in the Rafah massacre.

Now in its 312th day, Israel has killed at least 39,929 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounded over 92,240 others, with 10,000 plus estimated to be buried under debris of bombed out buildings.