Israel is pushing back against critics — and even supporters like U.S. President Biden — who say it’s indiscriminately bombing targets inside the Gaza Strip while aiming to destroy Hamas.
Brig. Gen. Omer Tischler, the Israeli air force chief of staff, said it has mounted a “precise, focused and process-based” air campaign since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel that killed at least 1,200 people and resulted in hundreds of others taken hostage.
On Wednesday, Gen. Tischler said Israel’s jet fighters hit targets based on hard intelligence and select the optimum ordnance to lessen the chance that innocent bystanders get hit.
“This allows us to accurately strike Hamas even though it operates within civilian areas,” he said in a statement. “During the strike, we are monitoring the target area. If it does not comply with our standard operating procedures, we will abort.”
Israeli pilots often use small, precision-guided missiles to hit targets near sensitive areas scattered throughout Gaza, such as rocket launcher positions, command and control centers and tunnel shafts, Gen. Tischler said.
Much of the criticism leveled against the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza is over their use of dumb bombs against targets in the built-up Palestinian enclave. Even Mr. Biden has said the IDF’s use of such weapons could result in Israel losing support in the international community.
“The term dumb bombs describes munitions that are not guided-based. These are standard munitions that are regularly used by militaries worldwide,” Gen. Tischler said. “The claim that such munitions are indiscriminate or cause uncontrollable damage is misleading.”
The munitions still hit the target even if they aren’t directed by a GPS system. “It is released in a specific release point calculated by the aircraft’s system to allow the pilot to strike a target accurately,” Gen. Tischler said.
The air force chief also addressed the craters left behind in Gaza after airstrikes. He said IDF heavy munitions are detonated underground, which prevents fragmentation and reduces the blastwave and debris.
“The resulting crater visible in satellite images indicates that the underground detonation has actually occurred on a military target and directly minimized damage to the surrounding areas,” Gen. Tischler said.
He acknowledged that mistakes can happen on a battlefield and said the IDF always studies tragic events so they won’t be repeated.
“The Israeli air force, together with the ground forces, will continue to conduct a precise, focused and professional campaign in accordance with international law,” Gen. Tischler said.
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