Kelly Statement on Reports of Israeli Use of Unguided Munitions in Gaza
Today, U.S. Senator and Navy combat veteran Mark Kelly released the following statement after public reports that nearly half of the Israeli air-to-ground munitions used in Gaza following the October 7th Hamas terror attacks have been unguided, imprecise weapons:
“Israel has every right to defend itself and seek to dismantle Hamas following the heinous terror attacks on October 7th. They also have an obligation to protect innocent Palestinian civilians during this operation.
“I know from my own experience in Desert Storm that unguided munitions are difficult to deliver accurately and pose a massive risk to civilians in densely populated areas where even a small miss can have dire consequences. I raised this repeatedly in meetings with Israeli leadership in Israel and again to the Israeli ambassador, urging them to use the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) that the United States has provided or other precision guided munitions that make bombs highly accurate and to take every step to protect civilians. If this reporting is confirmed, I’m concerned they are not fully heeding this advice.
“Israel is our ally, which means we will stand by them when they are attacked. It also means we have a responsibility to state clearly that they must protect innocent lives.”
