Israeli Air Force chief rejects accusations of indiscriminate bombings in Gaza

The chief of staff of the Israeli Air Force stated that Israel conducts precise and focused airstrikes in a video statement on Wednesday, rejecting accusations, made by U.S. President Joe Biden, among others, about indiscriminate bombings.

“Since the October 7 massacre, the Israeli Air Force has been conducting a precise, focused and process-based campaign. I will walk you through the principles that we keep in mind while planning operations and address misleading claims,” Israeli Air Force (IAF) Brig.-Gen. Omer Tischler explained.

On Dec. 12, Biden told supporters that Israel was losing support because of “indiscriminate bombing.”

In response, Tischler described four principles the IAF adheres to in its planning of airstrikes.

“Our planning principles include: 1. Striking targets based on intel, and military necessity for close air support. 2. Evacuation efforts: They enable us to strike and maneuver in areas with minimal civilian presence. 3. Selecting the right munitions to minimize collateral damage: This allows us to accurately strike Hamas even though it operates within civilian areas. 4. Real-time monitoring: During a strike, we monitor the target area. If it does not comply with our Standard Operating Procedures, we abort,” he said.

Israel has also been accused of using unguided “dumb bombs,” an accusation that Tischler addressed by explaining the confusion surrounding the term.

“The term ‘dumb bombs’ describes munitions that are not guidance-based. These are standard munitions that are regularly used by militaries worldwide,” Tischler said.

“The claim that such munitions are indiscriminate or cause uncontrollable damage is misleading. Even though these munitions are not GPS-guided, they are still used accurately. They are released at a specific release point calculated by the aircraft’s system to allow the pilot to strike a target accurately.”

The IAF chief also spoke about the craters that airstrikes have created in various places in the Gaza Strip.  

“Heavy munitions are detonated underground, preventing fragmentation and significantly reducing the blast wave and debris as a result. In these strikes, the resulting crater visible in satellite images indicates that the underground detonation has actually occurred on a military target, and directly minimized damage to the surrounding areas,” he said.

In his video statement, Tischler also confirmed that Israel uses small precision-guided munitions to avoid collateral damage in sensitive areas.

“Additionally, in many cases, we use small PGMs (precision-guided munitions) to strike targets near sensitive areas. Those targets include rocket launchers, commanders, tunnel shafts, and command and control centers, which are located throughout the Gaza Strip.”

Tischler said that while mistakes can still happen in war, Israel learns from its mistakes.

“But let me be very clear. In war, mistakes can happen. While they are exceptional, they are still made. We study them, learn from them and make changes to our process as a result.”

In mid-December, U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby praised Israel Defense Forces for developing a new digital map that pinpoints areas where Gazan civilians should evacuate.

“That’s basically telegraphing your punches. There are very few modern militaries in the world that would do that. I don’t know that we would do that,” Kirby admitted.