The Al-Mawasi massacre that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 09/10/24, can be used to prove the malicious genocidal intent of Israel. I want to stress the following- this is not the first Al-Mawasi massacre. There was a massacre in July 2024 at the designated safe zone, that killed at least 90 people. I will speak about a martyr at the end who was murdered in July 2024.
Here are the main points:
1. It was designated as a safe zone by Israel. Families fled from other areas hoping for safety in this area.
2. The attack explicitly targeted a tent camp for displaced people with MK-84 bombs supplied by the US
3. The blast was so severe that it killed at least 20 people, injured at least 60, and at least 22 people are missing under the sand.
Now let’s dissect these points.
It was designated as a safe zone– Throughout the almost year bombing of Gaza, Israel has continuously targeted places that they have declared as safe zones. They drop flyers down onto civilians telling them to flee a specific area and go to a designated spot. The civilians listen to the occupation forces, and flee, some of who have been displaced multiple times, just to be met with another massacre at the safe zone. If an area is declared a “humanitarian safe zone”, then it is to be protected under international law. It does not lose its protection if militants are taking shelter there, and it doesn’t “cancel” the innocent civilian’s protection, according to international law. The only parallel to what Israel is doing with these so called “safe zones” is a death camp- Israel is literally creating little small death camps in Gaza and labeling them “safe zones”.
MK-84 bombs used on tents– The MK-84 (or Mark-84, or “bunker buster) is a 2,000 pound bomb- which is 4 times heavier than the majority of bombs dropped by the US on ISIS in Syria and Iraq, notorious for its destructive power. The pressure wave of this bomb is so powerful that it can bring down buildings and cause fatal injuries to anyone within a 350-meter radius. The UN has also stated that the blast of this bomb can rupture lungs, tear limbs apart, and burst sinus cavities.
This bomb has been used by the US in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s also Israel’s “weapon of choice” in Gaza, both in this current genocide and in previous massacres they have committed. The UN in 2014 warned against using the MK-84s against the civilian areas in Gaza, stating “that it would likely constitute a violation of the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks”. This bomb is designated to penetrate layers of steal or concrete, and therefore considered extremely dangerous when dropped on civilian areas. Let’s all remember the most important point. They used this bomb that penetrates layers of steal and concrete on tents. They dropped at least 4 of these bombs, on tents.
Israel also dropped MK-84s on Gaza in the 2021 offensive war. The Middle East Eye conducted an investigation in 2021 and they said “of the 2,75 aerial attacks on Gaza… Mk-84s were dropped the most during the 11-day onslaught.”
According to a CNN from December 2023, Israel had dropped over hundreds of these bombs. Synthetaic and CNN detected more than 500 craters in Gaza in December 2023, which is consistent with the MK-84s. It’s also important to note, these bombs are not known for their accuracy; it has none- it is considered a free-fall “dumb bomb”. It has no accuracy or control.
This bomb is so dangerous, that Western militaries use it sparingly. Even the US, Israel’s biggest ally, briefly halted shipments of this bomb in May 2024, to try and deter them from invading Rafah, which as we all know did not work.
The US is complicit in these war crimes and this genocide by supplying over 14,000 MK-84s to Israel.
Again, let’s all remember the most important point. They used this bomb that penetrates layers of steel and concrete on tents. They dropped at least 4 of these bombs, on tents.
The severity of the blast- The witness reports state that they found craters up to 10 meters deep at the camp site, fire was burning, people are still buried under the sand, and families are retrieving body parts of their loved ones.
Here is the story of Tala Mahmoud, 14 years old who was struck by an MK-84 and was murdered by Israel in July 2024. Tala was waiting in a food distribution line to try and get some lentil soup for her and her displaced family on Saturday in the July Al-Mawasi massacre. Al-Mawasi was labeled as a safe zone then too. While waiting in line, Israel war planes dropped 5 MK-84s on the area. The area was filled with people who had been forcibly displaced.
Tala’s mother, Nagla recounts the horror: ““I was waiting for Tala to arrive when the world turned upside down. We heard massive explosions. Everything was destroyed. I could no longer see anything,” she said. She ran to find her daughter at the food distribution point, but all she saw was blood and torn apart bodies.
“I began yelling and weeping. And I screamed out to her, hoping she was alive and could hear me.”
Naglaa found Tala’s small hand next to a plate of lentils. Then she found her daughter’s left foot. And the horror continued.
“I found pieces of my daughter’s body on a tree,” Naglaa said. “I started screaming in terror.”
With her heart breaking, she said, she gathered what she could recover of Tala’s corpse and brought it inside an undamaged tent. She and her husband later buried their young daughter.
Tala’s mother said she can’t stop weeping over her daughter’s death.
Leave a Reply