It has been tested and approved.. Gaza is a testing area for Israeli weapons

Israelis from volunteer security teams carry new weapons distributed to them in Ashkelon (Reuters)

The Israeli war in Gaza is also a display of Israeli expertise in the field of weapons, and the occupation army does not hide this, and therefore customers will not need to wait until the end of the war, because the new weapons are displayed on the army’s official website, with a brief technical explanation stating that the “users” are happy with their experiences. in the field.

With this summary, the Media Part website opened - an analysis written by Gwennael Lenoir - in which he pointed out the use of new weapons and algorithms for the first time in the Gaza Strip, and reviewed some of the new military equipment that Israeli companies will present at arms exhibitions, such as the “Iron Sting” mortars with a new laser guidance system. Or GPS.

The writer pointed to the shoulder-fired Hewlett-Yatid missiles, for areas with high population density, which were tested for the first time in the Strip, such as the Negev 7 machine gun, the Ethan armored vehicle, the Smash telescope, and the Perry pocket, which bears the name of one of the “kibbutzim” (settlements) in which The attack on October 7, 2023 affected it, as well as other equipment.

The Israeli press reports on the army's website, and even the Jerusalem Post journalist who turned into a sales representative - according to the author - adds American weapons to the catalog of "innovations" such as unguided "dumb bombs" that were converted into "smart" bombs thanks to a guidance system based on Global Positioning System, invented by Boeing to be added to very powerful bombs of up to 900 kilograms.

Lowenstein: For years, Israel has been testing and experimenting with a large number of repressive techniques on Palestinians in Palestine, to then be promoted on battlefields around the world, and Gaza is often seen as the ultimate testing ground for weapons of destruction and surveillance.

Gaza showroom

Accordingly, the Gaza Strip has become a public display for the Israeli army, and a showroom for the military industry and its innovations, and the weapons that Israel purchases from its foreign suppliers, especially the United States. “This is not the first time that Gaza has become a selling point, but what is new is the timing during the war on Gaza,” he added. says Shir Hever, an Israeli economist and leader of the BDS campaign.

Anthony Lowenstein, author of the 2023 “Palestinian Laboratory” article, explains: “For years, Israel has been testing and experimenting with a large number of repressive techniques on Palestinians in Palestine, to then be promoted on battlefields around the world, and Gaza is often seen as a testing ground.” "The ultimate weapon of destruction and surveillance."

The Israeli army admitted - as the author says - two days ago that it pumped “large quantities of water” into the tunnels used by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, in order to “neutralize” them and ensure that access to drinking water in the Strip is not affected.

The occupation army said in a statement that “various tools have been developed to send large quantities of water into the tunnels (...) in a professional manner based on soil analysis,” indicating that the method is only used in places where it is “appropriate.”

The Israeli army presents its new weapons as aiming to achieve greater efficiency and “humanity,” and thus the army’s website praises the Iron Sting missile as allowing it to target and strike cells and vehicles with surgical precision, and it can enter through windows in a way that reduces collateral damage.

The Israeli army presents its new weapons as aiming for greater efficiency and “humanity,” and thus the army’s website praises the Iron Sting missile as allowing targeting and striking cells and vehicles with surgical precision, and can enter through windows in a way that minimizes collateral damage.

However, the author points out that the current war has led to a massacre and huge losses, with the death toll exceeding 26,000, most of them women and children. However, it is impossible to attribute the scale of human losses and destruction to specific munitions, because Israel used all of its air, land and sea weapons, and even because of military censorship. severe, in addition to the secrecy of major companies.

Shir Hever, who is the coordinator of the boycott campaign to ban weapons, like others, records the testimonies of doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital, who noticed unprecedented injuries among the victims of the bombing, and the Israeli army - which was contacted - did not respond to provide information on this point.

CNN revealed an assessment by the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence, in which it said that 40 to 45% of the 29,000 munitions dropped during the first two months of the war on the Gaza Strip were unguided, and perhaps the use of high-powered bombs would explain this. Partly due to the staggering number of civilian deaths and injuries, the IDF itself has at least once admitted to using “inappropriate” munitions.

Artificial intelligence for setting goals

The writer pointed out that a new system for determining targets using artificial intelligence may be another explanation for these huge losses. In something similar to science fiction movies, the system “grinds” astronomical amounts of information at lightning speed and presents “targets” in real time, in numbers larger than “could be possible.” “For tens of thousands of officers to do it,” according to an officer cited in Yuval Avraham’s investigation published in the Israeli magazine +972.

"This is the first time that artificial intelligence has been used as a weapon," Hever asserts. It is a war run by this technology, and we must ask ourselves who is controlling whom. When a soldier is given many targets to “deal with” and he only has to check one thing, which is the gender of the target, if it is a woman he can not shoot, but if it is a man we tell him that The shot can cause 80 collateral casualties, it "shoots anyway."

Although artificial intelligence is the advanced level of technology on which the military industry sector has built its reputation in recent decades, this high technology was not able to prevent Hamas fighters from crossing the security wall, but this failure should not harm the sector, major companies, and the Israeli space industries. Famous for its marches, it is widely used for targeted assassinations.

Ben Eliezer: When Israel sells a weapon, it is already tested. This is why the demand is so strong, bringing billions of dollars into the country

Hever says, “I thought this failure of technology would lead to its rejection, but what Israeli companies are publishing is exactly the opposite,” as they claim that they have many customers, and they are mainly Western countries such as Sweden in the first place, then come Germany, the United States, Britain and Italy.

The writer concluded by recalling the film “The Laboratory” 11 years ago, about the Israeli military industry, its position in the economy, and its connections to the political class, where General Benjamin Ben Eliezer (Minister of Trade and Industry at the time) confirms, “When Israel sells a weapon, it is already tested. This is the reason for the very strong demand.” "It brings billions of dollars," but the difference today is the number of Palestinian lives lost in the rubble of Gaza.

Source: Mediapart