The Israeli military employed a 230-kilogram bomb – a powerful weapon designed to generate massive blast waves and scatter fragments over a wide area – during an attack on a crowded beachfront cafe in Gaza on Monday, The Guardian reported.
Experts in international law have stated that using such a weapon, particularly with the known presence of civilians including children, women, and the elderly in the area, was undoubtedly illegal and could constitute a war crime.
Fragments of the bomb recovered from the cafe’s wreckage, photographed by The Guardian, have been identified as parts of an MK-82 230-kilogram bomb. The large crater left by the explosion further corroborates the use of this ordnance.
Officials reported that between 24 and 36 Palestinians were killed in the strike, with dozens more wounded.
Under international law, a military is prohibited from launching attacks that cause “loss of civilian lives” that is “disproportionate.”
