A new study shows that Israel killed seven doctors in Lebanon with weapons from the United States. The research looked at pieces of the attack that showed they came from the United States.
Two weapons were looked at: a 500-pound Israeli MPR bomb and a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) made in the United States. The shrapnel that was found was also confirmed by Human Rights Watch and a third-party expert on weapons. The aerospace company Boeing makes JDAM kits that have two “dumb bombs” that can be turned into GPS-guided precision rockets.
Israel has asked for this tool more than any other, especially during the war in Gaza. When pieces of the al-Habariyeh attack were found, they had writing on them that proved they came from a “bomb MPR 500” and a JDAM. The attack was illegal, according to Human Rights Watch, and “should have implications for U.S. military assistance to Israel.”
“It is not credible for Israel to say that it is using US weapons legally,” said Ramzi Kaiss of Human Rights Watch. Since Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon continue to break international law, the Biden administration should stop sending arms to Israel right away.
There will be a report from U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about whether or not Israel’s use of U.S. arms breaks U.S. or international law. The Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said that Blinken’s findings should include information about the attack on al-Habariyeh.
When asked about the reports, Van Hollen said, “They are deeply concerning and must be fully investigated by the Biden administration. Their findings should definitely be included in the NSM-20 report that is due to be sent to Congress.”
People have put a lot of pressure on the government to cut down on the number of weapons sent to Israel from the United States because those weapons have been linked to the deaths of over thirty thousand Palestinians.