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OSMP Collection

Israel and Gaza 2023 – 2024

On 7 October 2023, Hamas militants breached the heavily-fortified border separating Israel and the Gaza Strip, attacking numerous towns and villages. More than 1,000 people in Israel were reported killed, with more than 250 taken hostage and moved to Gaza. In response, Israel has launched one of its largest military operations of recent decades, seeking to destroy Hamas and end its control of Gaza.

In late October 2023, Israeli forces invaded Gaza, incurring ground fighting between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces inside the strip. Images from Gaza showed multiple cities- including Gaza City- largely in ruins. By May 2024, more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza had been reported killed.

The war is a broadly asymmetric one – with the large and well-armoured Israel Defense Forces facing Hamas and other smaller militant groups. With full aerial superiority over Gaza, the IDF has deployed thousands of airstrikes, including in heavily populated areas. Palestinian militant groups have continued to fire typically unguided rockets and missiles at Israel.

Methodology

This collection includes all images in the OSMP archive from Israel and the Gaza Strip from October 2023. It includes both munitions allegedly deployed by Israeli forces and Palestinian militant groups.

Images in collection

25

Munitions in collection

M996 GBU-39 series MK84 series M117 M150 Haseb Fajr-1 AGM-114 Hellfire series MK84 Mod 4
Analyst Note:
The circled remnant is the hardened steel nosecone of the GBU-39, which renders the munition capable of penetrating more than 3 feet (approx. 1 metre) of steel-reinforced concrete. It is one of several components that often survives the detonation of the munition. (ARES)
2 Analyst Notes:
This munition is assessed to be one of the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) I variants (GBU-39 series), rather than one of the SDB II 'StormBreaker' (GBU-53 series) munitions, on the basis of contextual information. 'Small Diameter Bomb' is the manufacturer's terminology, whilst 'GBU-39' is the U.S. Air Force designation (also used by many other operators). (ARES)
Analyst Note:
Some artillery projectiles, such as this M150 type, use a hexachloroethane-based composition (HC) to generate smoke for screening or marking purposes. In many armed forces, HC smoke munitions have partially replaced those relying on white phosphorus for similar effects. (ARES)
Analyst Note:
107mm spin-stabilized rockets of this design are often utilized by non-state actors in an indirect fire role. Like the original Chinese models that they are copied from, they do not require more than a simple electric power source and a rudimentary launch platform to achieve an acceptable level of accuracy. (ARES)