Satellite data shows massive bombs dropped in dangerous proximity to Gaza Strip hospitals in 2023

Researchers analyzed maps of Gaza bomb craters in October and November 2023 to study how close bombs came to hospital infrastructure

2024-10-09

(Press-News.org) Satellite data on the proximity of hundreds of M-84 bomb craters to hospitals in the Gaza Strip suggests that, as of November 2023, hospitals were not being given special protection from indiscriminate bombing, as mandated by international humanitarian law. That is one finding out of a new study published this week in PLOS Global Public Health by Dennis Kunichoff of Harvard University, and colleagues.

On October 7, 2023, Israel launched a major military campaign in the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas militant attacks in Israel. Among the munitions being used are United-States-provided Mark-84 (M-84) bombs, which are air-dropped explosive munitions that shoot more than 1000 pounds of steel fragments in all directions. M-84s have been shown to cause injury and damage infrastructure up to 800m from the point of detonation.

In the new study, researchers used publicly available geospatial data to identify hospitals in the Gaza Strip and combined it with CNN and New York Times satellite imagery investigations on the number and proximity of M-84 bomb craters which appeared in the Gaza Strip between October 7 and November 17, 2023. In total, the data included 36 hospitals and 592 bomb craters.

Overall, nine hospitals were within 360m of a bomb crater – considered a lethal range – and 30 additional hospitals were within 800m – the range that generally leads to injury and infrastructure damage. Two hospitals had as many as 21 and 23 bomb craters within 800m of their facilities and one hospital had 7 bomb craters within 360m. In total, 38 M-84 bombs were found to have been detonated within 800m of hospitals in the Israel-designated evacuation zone.

The authors say that the study was limited by its reliance on satellite information, so cannot be used to deduce actual damage to hospital functioning or casualties. In addition, the data was limited to the six-week time period in late 2023 for which satellite imagery was available and does not reflect the current situation on the ground.

“Given the proximity of these bomb craters to hospital areas, this study reveals concern for indiscriminate bombing in close proximity to hospital infrastructure which is afforded special protection under international humanitarian law,” the authors say.

#####

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Global Public Health: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0003178

Citation: Kunichoff D, Mills D, Asi Y, Abdulrahim S, Wispelwey B, Tanous O, et al. (2024) Are hospitals collateral damage? Assessing geospatial proximity of 2000 lb bomb detonations to hospital facilities in the Gaza Strip from October 7 to November 17, 2023. PLOS Glob Public Health 4(10): e0003178. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003178

Author Countries: Lebanon, Palestine, United States

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Satellite data shows massive bombs dropped in dangerous proximity to Gaza Strip hospitals in 2023 2

Satellite data shows massive bombs dropped in dangerous proximity to Gaza Strip hospitals in 2023 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Predatory birds from the same fossil formation as SUE the T. rex

2024-10-09

The Hell Creek Formation in what’s now the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming was once home to some of the world’s most beloved dinosaurs, like Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex (including SUE, one of the largest, most complete, and best-preserved T. rex specimens ever found). But these giant dinosaurs weren’t alone in their ecosystem, and in a paper in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists have described two new species of birds that lived alongside these dinosaurs 68 million years ago. The researchers ...

Sexist textbooks? Review of over 1200 English-language textbooks from 34 countries reveals persistent pattern of stereotypical gender roles and under-representation of female characters across countri

2024-10-09

Gender biases around male and female roles and under-representation of female characters appeared in textbooks from around the world, with male-coded words appearing twice as often as female-coded words on average, according to a study published October 9, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Lee Crawfurd from the Center for Global Development, United Kingdom, and colleagues. School textbooks play an important role in shaping norms and attitudes in students—one reason why controversy ...

Interview with Lee Crawfurd, Center for Global Development, United Kingdom

2024-10-09

Interview with Lee Crawfurd ### What first drew you to study gender bias in school textbooks, and why did you choose to investigate this topic? I was raised by a gay feminist single mother who was a school teacher and loves to challenge gender stereotypes, so this is something I've always been interested in. This personal background, combined with recent advancements in computerized text analysis and the new availability of digital textbooks, led me to this line of research. What are the key findings from your research? It's not really news that there is some ...

Scientists show accelerating CO2 release from rocks in Arctic Canada with global warming

2024-10-09

Researchers from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford have shown that weathering of rocks in the Canadian Arctic will accelerate with rising temperatures, triggering a positive feedback loop that will release more and more CO2 to the atmosphere. The findings have been published today in the journal Science Advances. For sensitive regions like the Arctic, where surface air temperatures are warming nearly four times faster than the global average, it is particularly crucial to understand the potential contribution of atmospheric CO2 from weathering. ...

The changing geography of “energy poverty”

2024-10-09

A growing portion of Americans who are struggling to pay for their household energy live in the South and Southwest, reflecting a climate-driven shift away from heating needs and toward air conditioning use, an MIT study finds. The newly published research also reveals that a major U.S. federal program that provides energy subsidies to households, by assigning block grants to states, does not yet fully match these recent trends. The work evaluates the “energy burden” on households, which reflects the percentage of income needed to pay for energy necessities, from 2015 to 2020. Households with an energy burden greater ...

Why people think they’re right, even when they are wrong

2024-10-09

COLUMBUS, Ohio – If you smugly believe you’re right in a disagreement with a friend or colleague, a new study suggests why you may actually be wrong. Researchers found that people naturally assume they have all the information they need to make a decision or support their position, even when they do not. The researchers called it the “illusion of information adequacy.” “We found that, in general, people don’t stop to think whether there might be more information that would help them make a more informed decision,” said study co-author ...

New study shows how muscle energy production is impaired in type 2 diabetes

2024-10-09

A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Science Translational Medicine, shows that people with type 2 diabetes have lower levels of the protein that breaks down and converts creatine in the muscles. This leads to impaired function of the mitochondria, the 'powerhouses' of the cell. Creatine is a natural compound in the body that is also found in foods such as meat and fish. It is also a popular supplement for improving exercise performance as it can make muscles work harder and longer before they become fatigued. Despite creatine's ...

Early human species benefited from food diversity in steep mountainous terrain

2024-10-09

A new study published in the journal Science Advances [1] by researchers at the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) at Pusan National University in South Korea shows that the patchwork of different ecosystems found in mountainous regions played a key role in the evolution of humans. A notable feature of the archeological sites of early humans, members of the genus Homo known as hominins, is that they are often found in and near mountain regions. Using an extensive dataset of hominin fossils and artifacts, along with high-resolution landscape data and a 3-million-year-long simulation of Earth’s climate, the team of scientists from ICCP have provided a clearer picture of how ...

Researchers discover new insights into bacterial photosynthesis

2024-10-09

Researchers at the University of Liverpool and collaborators have discovered new understanding of bacterial photosynthesis. Using cutting-edge techniques, investigators have unveiled intricate detailed images of the key photosynthetic protein complexes of purple bacteria. These images shed new light on how these microorganisms harness solar energy. The study, published today, not only advances scientists’ understanding of bacterial photosynthesis but also has potential applications in the development of artificial photosynthetic systems for clean energy production. Like plants, many ...

Former United States Air Force surgeon general to lead Military Health Institute at UT Health San Antonio

2024-10-09

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) announces the appointment of retired Lt. Gen. Robert Miller, MD, MBA, MSS, FAAP, FACHE, FACPE, as the new Executive Director of the Military Health Institute at UT Health San Antonio. Miller will assume his role, effective October 15. Miller joins UT Health San Antonio with more than 30 years of service in the United States Air Force, where he held several top leadership roles. Throughout his distinguished career, Miller served as command surgeon, director of education ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Do people with MS have an increased risk of cancer?

New research on octopus-inspired technology successfully maneuvers underwater objects

Newly discovered Late Cretaceous birds may have carried heavy prey like extant raptors

Bat species richness in San Diego, C.A. decreases as artificial lights, urbanization, and unconserved land increase, with Townsend's big-eared bat especially affected