Israel likely used U.S.-made 2,000-pound bombs in Nasrallah strike, visuals show
"Israel probably employed U.S.-made 2,000-pound munitions in its strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, according to a review of visuals released by the Israel Defense Forces. Analysts who examined videos of the strike and its aftermath at The Washington Post’s request said the damage was consistent with the use of multiple 2,000-pound bombs.
Three analysts who reviewed a video shared by the Israeli air force on Saturday said it showed fighter jets carrying multiple 2,000-pound-class bombs, at least some of which were U.S.-made BLU-109s and JDAM guidance kits.
In the video, eight F-15 planes carrying at least 16 2,000-pound bombs take off. “Air force planes eliminating Hasan Nasrallah and the Hezbollah headquarters in Lebanon,” reads the descriptive text accompanying the video. Photos released by the IDF showed individual planes fitted with at least three and as many as six BLU-109s each.
The warheads are designed to penetrate up to six feet of reinforced concrete, according to Trevor Ball, a former explosive ordnance disposal technician for the U.S. Army.
The attack leveled at least four large buildings in two locations and caused heavy damage to an area spanning 1,000 feet, according to photos, videos and a comparison of satellite imagery from before and after the strike.
Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, referred questions about the operation to the IDF. An IDF spokesperson told The Post that “Dozens of munitions hit the target within seconds with very high precision, and this is part of what is required to hit underground sites at this depth.” They declined to comment further on the strike. U.S. officials have said they received no advance warning from the Israelis about the attack.
“It is a mess of a site,” Ball said of the strike’s aftermath. “It’s possible dozens of 2,000-pound bombs were used,” he added after reviewing new video of a large crater where the two buildings previously stood.
One video, filmed from a window, shows at least four distinct columns rising above the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh. The plumes appear to be dozens of feet wide and high, billowing above the buildings below. Screams are audible in the background.
Warplanes then dropped at least five additional munitions, according to a second videoverified by The Post. After they land, a fireball erupts. It was not immediately clear from the video what munition was used.
“Initial available videos of the strike show that numerous large air-delivered bombs were used,” N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, wrote in a message to The Post. Jenzen-Jones added that the repeated impacts from multiple munitions suggests they were aimed at penetrating a heavily protected space.
This kind of quick succession of munitions is often referred to as “daisy chaining,” a Department of Defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss targeting strategy, told The Post. He added that daisy-chaining with 2,000-pound bombs is a common tactic in decapitation strikes: Drop the building with the bunker-buster bombs and then deploy a high-explosive demolition charge.
The technique was used by U.S. and NATO forces in failed strikes against Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gaddafi in the early 2000s, according to the official, who was familiar with the execution of both strikes at the time. In both attacks, 2,000-pound bombs were used in the single digits, including two BLU-109s in each. The official said he had never seen so many bombs used against a single target as in the Nasrallah strike.
A video filmed in the immediate aftermath shows at least two craters, both filled with significant amounts of debris. Fire is visible in the background as rescue crews clad in neon yellow vests traverse the landscape of charred building materials in search of survivors.
(Video: Alaaeddine Sukkar)
In May, the Biden administration paused the shipment of thousands of weapons to Israel, including the controversial 2,000-pound bombs, in protest of their use in heavily populated areas in Gaza. Since then, the United States has resumed sending 500-pound munitions.
Israel has killed 1,030 people in Lebanon since mid-September, according Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. There have been 6,352 people wounded, Health Minister Firass Abiad said in a news conference Saturday.
Joe Snell and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report."
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