Gaza: one of the most intense bombardments in history

The document analyzes the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, highlighting an unprecedented bombing rate facilitated by AI-driven targeting. It compares the destruction to World War II carpet-bombing and argues that the use of disproportionate force violates international humanitarian law, while concluding that military solutions are counterproductive to long-term peace.

• The intensity of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombardment in the first five days of 'Operation Iron Swords' was exceptionally high, with approximately 6,000 bombs dropped, averaging 1,200 bombs per day or one every minute.
• The scale of destruction in Gaza is compared to the Allied 'carpet-bombing' of German cities like Dresden, Cologne, and Hamburg during World War II, with satellite radar data suggesting over 60% of buildings in northern Gaza were severely damaged by late 2023.
• Israel utilizes an AI-powered targeting system called 'Habsora' ('The Gospel') to accelerate the generation of targets and shorten 'kill chains', which the authors argue precludes effective legal oversight of targeting processes.
• The document argues that the Israeli military employs the 'Dahiya' doctrine, which advocates for the use of disproportionate and overwhelming force against civilian and government infrastructure to establish deterrence.
• Casualty data indicates a very high civilian death rate; the authors estimate that if only half of the remaining men killed were militants, the civilian death rate would be approximately 86%.
• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a preliminary ruling in January 2024 finding a "plausible case" regarding the Genocide Convention and ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent genocide and enable humanitarian aid.
• The authors conclude that intense military force is a failure as a solution, citing post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen, and argue that the current approach may strengthen paramilitary groups.

APA

Webber, P., & Parkinson, S. (2024). Gaza: one of the most intense bombardments in history. Scientists for Global Responsibility. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/gaza-one-most-intense-bombardments-history

Chicago

Webber, Philip, and Stuart Parkinson. Gaza: one of the most intense bombardments in history. Scientists for Global Responsibility, 2024. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/gaza-one-most-intense-bombardments-history.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Webber |first1=Philip |last2=Parkinson |first2=Stuart |title=Gaza: one of the most intense bombardments in history |publisher=Scientists for Global Responsibility |date=13 March 2024 |url=https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/gaza-one-most-intense-bombardments-history |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{webber2024gaza, author = {Webber, Philip and Parkinson, Stuart}, title = {{Gaza: one of the most intense bombardments in history}}, institution = {Scientists for Global Responsibility}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/gaza-one-most-intense-bombardments-history}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }