Israeli forces launch air raids in attempt to kill Hamas leader in Gaza
Date
7/17/2024 5:57:57 AM
(MENAFN) On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli military forces launched an airstrike involving eight bombs, each weighing 2,000 pounds, targeting Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. This significant operation took place on the previous Saturday, aiming at a camp for displaced persons in the Mawasi region of Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip.
According to sources familiar with the operation, the attack was initiated after intelligence reports indicated Deif's presence in a specific compound in southern Gaza. The Israeli forces responded with an intense bombardment using precision-guided munitions, resulting in an explosion so powerful that it transformed the target site into a flaming crater.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the airstrike was directed at Mohammed Deif and his deputy, Rafi Salameh. However, Netanyahu also stated that Deif's fate remains unclear. In contrast, Hamas, through the Islamic Resistance Movement, denied reports of Deif's death during the raid.
In another development, two weapons experts analyzed video footage of the explosion site shared on social media, identifying shrapnel fragments as parts of the U.S.-manufactured Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) system. This sophisticated system employs GPS technology to convert conventional unguided bombs, often referred to as "dumb bombs," into precision-guided munitions that can accurately hit single or multiple targets.
The JDAM system was developed by the United States to enhance bombing accuracy, particularly under adverse weather conditions, following lessons learned from Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The U.S. Air Force began deploying JDAM systems in 1997, with the system achieving a reliability rate of 95 percent.
Trevor Bull, a former technical expert in the U.S. Army and an explosive ordnance disposal specialist, stated with certainty that the weapons used in the Mawasi raid were from the JDAM system, confirming that they were manufactured in the United States.
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