Dirty secret of Israel's weapons exports: They're tested on Palestinians

Amman, Jordan – The Israeli army released footage on October 22 of its Maglan commando unit deploying a new precision-guided 120mm mortar bomb called the Iron Sting, against Hamas in Gaza. The bomb's Haifa-based manufacturer, Elbit Systems, has been advertising its qualities on the public relations page of its website since March 2021, when it was integrated into the Israeli military. Benny Gantz, then Israel's defence minister and now a part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, described the Iron Sting as "designed to engage targets precisely, in both open terrains and urban environments, while reducing the possibility of collateral damage and preventing injury to non-combatants". It's a claim echoed by Mark Regev, Netanyahu's former spokesperson, for the country's overall approach to its war on Gaza, in which, he has said, Israel is "trying to be as surgical as humanly possible". Yet, more than one month after Israel launched the aerial bombardment of Gaza following a surprise Hamas attack, it has killed at least 11,400 Palestinian civilians, and injured 30,000 in the besieged strip and the occupied West Bank.