Senior White House officials refuse to comment on whether the munitions Israeli military assets used in a deadly Gaza airstrike in Rafah this week were manufactured in the United States, despite an investigation that appeared to confirm the presence of American-made bombs at the scene.
The most recent deadly Israeli airstrike was reported on Sunday (May 26), which, according to claims made by the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry, resulted in the deaths of 45 people and left 200 others injured.
The Independent reported that the attack on the city, which many observed to be the final refuge of Palestinians who fled from the north of the strip, caused international outrage. However, according to the New York Times, Washington officials said that the strike did not constitute a breach of the "red line" President Joe Biden set to the Israeli government that would cause him to reconsider his support for the Jewish State.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) quickly claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, saying that its air assets struck a Hamas compound using "precise ammunition on the basis of precise intelligence." IDF officials added that they had killed two Hamas officials in the strike.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliamentary colleagues on Monday (May 27), calling the incident a "tragic mishap" and promising an investigation.
Evidence of US Bombs Used in Rafah Airstrike Surface
CNN published an analysis Wednesday (May 29), which revealed video footage from the scene of the airstrike. The video showed fragments of munitions with an intact serial number in it. The analysis suggested that the fragment appeared to be part of a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, a 250-pound (110 kg) precision-guided glide bomb made by Boeing.
Former US Army explosives expert Trevor Ball told CNN that he saw the footage, claiming that the fragment belonged to the warhead section of what he said was an "extremely unique" part of the bomb.
While in the middle of his trip to Moldova, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was one of the first top Washington officials to refuse to admit that the bombs were American-made, saying that they were "see[ing] what the investigation shows."
Meanwhile, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby added that he could not confirm whether a GBU-39 was used and instead redirected reporters to Israeli military officials for answers.
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