Israel Used US-Provided Bomb on School Sheltering Civilians

The strike killed 31 people, including 8 children, and hit near the entrance of the school while kids were playing soccer

Israel used a US-provided bomb in a strike on a school in a town east of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis that was sheltering civilians, CNN reported on Wednesday.

The airstrike hit tents on the outside of the school in the town of Abassan on Tuesday. Officials at the nearby Nasser Hospital said 31 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attack, including eight children.

Footage from Al Jazeera shows children playing soccer in the schoolyard as the strike hits the school’s entrance. Weapons experts told CNN that a video of the aftermath showed remnants of a US-made GBU-39 small-diameter bomb, a 250-pound munition.

GBU-39 bombs have been used in other massacres in Gaza, including a June strike on a UN school, a May attack on a tent camp in Rafah, and likely many more. The vast majority of the bombs Israel uses in Gaza are provided by the US since Washington is Tel Aviv’s main supplier of weapons.

A report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in March found that Israel gets 99% of its arms from the US and Germany. From 2019-2023, the report said the “USA accounted for 69% and Germany for 30% of Israeli arms imports.”

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.