American-made munitions were used in the attack on central Beirut that left 22 dead and 117 injured Thursday evening, according to an analysis of shrapnel found by The Guardian at the scene of the attack. The attack hit an apartment complex in the densely populated Basta neighborhood, leveling the building and destroying cars and the interiors of homes.
It was the deadliest attack in the Lebanese capital since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel began a year ago. And while the United States sells weapons that Israel uses in its bombings against civilians, United States President Joe Biden said Friday that he had asked Israel not to attack the mission. UN (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon, after Israeli bombings took place. injured four peacekeepers over the past two days.
A first source on site said that rescue teams had worked throughout the night to find survivors and recover the dead from the rubble. They claimed more people than usual were living in the building because residents had recently hosted people displaced by Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs. This increased the number of injuries and deaths during the air attack.
The building was one of two buildings hit in central Beirut on Thursday evening, and its target, according to Israel, was a senior Hezbollah official, Wafiq Safa, head of the group’s liaison and coordination unit and responsible for collaboration with Lebanese security agencies. According to Reuters, Safa survived the assassination attempt.
On Friday afternoon, The Guardian discovered remnants of US-made Direct Attack Munitions (Jdam) in the rubble of the collapsed building. Jdams are guidance kits manufactured by the American aerospace company Boeing which attach to large stupid bombs up to 900 kg, turning them into GPS-guided bombs.
The rest of the weapons were verified by Human Rights Watch’s Crisis, Conflict, and Arms Division and a former U.S. military bomb technician.
“The pattern of the bolts, their position and the shape of the fragment match the tail of an American-made Jdam guidance kit for the Mk80 series air-dropped munitions,” said Richard Weir, a senior researcher at the division crises and conflicts. and weapons from Human Rights Watch, after seeing a photograph of the fragment. The Mk80 series includes three classes of bombs, the smallest of 230 kilos and the largest of 900 kilos.
“The use of these weapons in densely populated areas, such as this, places civilians and civilian objects in the area at serious risk of immediate and lasting harm,” Weir said.
American weapons have played a key role in Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon, and Jdams are one of Israel’s most requested munitions from the United States. A previous investigation by The Guardian found that a Jdam was used in an attack that killed seven health workers, which Human Rights Watch considered a violation of international law.
Thursday’s attack is the first time American-made munitions have been confirmed used in an attack in central Beirut since 2006.
The United States has faced heavy criticism for its continued military aid to Israel, which amounted to $17.9 billion last year. In September, more than a dozen human rights organizations signed a joint letter to U.S. President Joe Biden asking him to suspend arms transfers to Israel, citing the use of U.S. munitions in attacks against civilians in Gaza.
Israel is currently facing a case before the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of committing “genocidal acts” in its war against Gaza.
In Lebanon, the population was shocked by the intensity of Israeli bombings in the country, which began on September 23.
The people who lived in the affected apartment and who survived still appeared to be in shock Friday afternoon. A couple carefully walked over the rubble to reach what was their apartment, picking up clothes scattered on the floor and putting them into a plastic bag filled with the few belongings they could salvage.
Ali, a 30-year-old man who lives on a nearby street, stood at the scene of the attack Friday afternoon, holding a photo of his uncle, killed the night before, and quietly reciting a prayer while pressing the rosary . His uncle was from Mays al-Jabal, a town on the Israeli-Lebanese border, and had recently fled to stay with relatives in Beirut.
“This attack is painful not only for him and his loved ones, but also for all those he helped. “This place was supposed to be safe,” Ali said.
Basta is a predominantly Sunni working-class neighborhood, famous for its antiques and traditional architecture. In high season, it is common to see tourists strolling through the neighborhood and its market, where antiques and furniture are sold.
More than 2,100 people have been killed and more than 10,212 injured in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since Hizuolah launched rockets into Israel on October 8, 2023 “in solidarity” with the Hamas attack the day before.
Most of them have died since September 23 this year, when Israel announced a new phase of its war against Hezbollah, which it called Operation Northern Arrows.
