The Israeli army used a 230 kilogram bomb – a powerful and indiscriminate weapon that generates a massive extensive wave and spreads the shrapnel through an extensive territory – to attack the cafeteria on Monday before the Gaza beach, as shown in the trials to which the guardian had access.
Experts of international law argue that the use of ammunition of this type, despite the well -known presence of unprotected civilians, including children, women and the elderly, was almost illegal and may be a war crime.
Fragments of the Ruin cafe-de-al-Baka, photographed by Guardian, were identified by artillery experts as the MK-82 pump areas 230 kg of general use, the main American production element in many bombing campaigns of the last decades.
The great crater, which left the explosion, was another evidence of using a large and powerful bomb, such as the MK-82, according to two artillery experts.
The press secretary of the Israeli defense forces (IDF) said that the attack on the cafeteria was considered and that “before the attack measures were taken to mitigate the risk of damage to civilians through air observation.”
Medical and other areas reported that from 24 to 36 Palestinians died as a result of an attack on the dining room, and dozens were injured. Among the dead were a well -known director and artist, a 35 -year -old housewife and a four -year -old boy. Among the wounded were a 14 -year -old boy and a 12 -year -old girl.
According to international legislation based on the Geneva Conventions, military force is prohibited from attacking attacks that cause “random losses of civilian life”, which are “excessive or disproportionate” regarding the military advantage intended for receipt.
What is considered acceptable is open to interpretation, but experts said that only the goal, the elimination of which can have a very significant impact on the course of the conflict, can justify the death of dozens of civilians.
There were two floors in the cafeteria – an excellent open and lower with large windows to the beach and sea – and clearly visible access from above.
Jerry Simpson from Human Raits Watch said: “The Israeli army did not say exactly who was directed as a result of the attack, but confirmed that he used air surveillance to minimize civilian casualties, which means that he knew that the cafeteria was full of customers at that time.
“The military would also know that the use of a large bomb with a guide launched from the air will kill and disfigure many of the civilians who were there. The use of such large weapons in a clearly crowded cafeteria of people implies the risk that this is disproportionately or unevenly illegal attack and should be investigated as a critical crime. ”
Dr. Andrew Ford, the attached professor of human rights at Dublin City University, notes that the attack scares. “When there is a situation in which heavy ammunition is used, especially in a crowded civil space, even for the best purpose in the world, there is always an indistinct result that does not comply with the Geneva Agreements,” he says.
The family cafeteria of al -baka was founded almost 40 years ago and was well known as a vacation spot for young people and families in the city of Gaza. He gave a small selection of soft drinks, tea and cookies.
Although the vast majority of the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza suffer from increasing malnutrition and constant threat of hunger, some have savings or salaries that allow them to visit the few remaining coffee.
The port -territory, where the tank cafeteria was not covered by any of the orders about the evacuation published by the IDF in order to warn about the inevitability of military operations.
Mark Shak, an assistant professor of international law at the University of Copenhagen, says: “This is almost impossible exclusively.”
Trevor Ball, an weapons researcher and a former explosive deactivation technique of the US Army, determines the tail of JDAM and the thermal battery, which, according to him, suggests that the MPR500 or MK-82 bomb was launched.
Another expert with extensive experience in recent conflicts determines the bomb in a similar way. The third says that he cannot conduct a reliable assessment from the images that were presented to him.
Israeli had a wide range of ammunition and often used much smaller weapons to conduct accurate attacks against people in gas, Lebanon and his recent air offensive in Iran.
At the beginning of this year, the IDF stated in an extensive statement that even the most difficult measures used to evaluate civilians are almost never perfect and that their choice of ammunition is a “professional problem that depends on the nature of the purpose of the attack”.
“Although some goals are suitable for smaller loads, others may require more severe ammunition to achieve the success of the mission – for example, when it is intended to destroy structures built with certain solid materials, large structures or underground tunnels,” the statement said.
On Tuesday, the representative of the Israeli government said that the IDF never attack civilians. ” Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields, accusations that the Islamist group denies.
