Published: 17 February, 2009, 09:24
Edited: 17 February, 2009, 09:24
The Palestinian Authority is calling for an international investigation of the weapons used by Israel during its three-week assault on Gaza. There are claims so-called DIME bombs were dropped from drone aircraft.
This kind of bomb is designed to produce an intense explosion in a small space.
Mona Al-Ashkar, an 18-year-old Gaza resident, lost her left leg and half her body was paralysed, after she was hit by an Israeli shell.
“I used to dream of going to university and becoming a maths teacher. I wanted to marry and have children. But now only God knows if I can. Which man is going to marry a girl in my situation? How can I marry without a leg? I can't move. I can't leave this bed. I don't know what will happen to me. Please God, please God!” she says.
According to the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), as many as 500 people in Gaza underwent amputations as a result of the recent conflict.
What distinguishes Mona’s case is the way in which her body was mutilated. Her doctors say her leg looked like it had been “sliced right off with a knife” – an unusual wound they encountered more than once during the offensive.
A cardiac surgeon Dr Eric Fosse, who treated the injured at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza for 11 days, has already returned to his native Norway. He and his colleague were the only foreigners in Gaza at the time of the offensive, others went home for Christmas. Dr Fosse believes the strike was carefully timed to minimise the number of foreign nationals in the strip and, therefore, hide the use of unconventional weapons.
“This was described the first time in 2006 in Lebanon. Israel was probably using what is called a
Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME), also called a dime bomb, is an experimental type of explosive that has a relatively small but effective blast radius. It is manufactured by producing a homogeneous mixture of a high explosive material (such as HMX (High Melting Explosive) or RDX (Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) and small particles of a chemically inert material such as tungsten. It is intended to limit the distance at which the explosion causes damage, to avoid collateral damage in warfare.
DIME bomb. This is a weapon that is, at least as we saw several times, shot from unmanned planes. When it hits the ground a huge pressure wave raises from the ground up. It causes enormous injuries to the lower body,” said Fosse.DIME Bomb
Many of those hit by DIME explosives died before doctors could help them but some, like Mona, survived. Yet, Fosse warns that worse may be yet to come.
“We believe that it is a kind of tungsten alloy that constitutes this weapon. There have been studies in the US with this alloy and it apparently causes cancer after a while,” he added.
While some Palestinians suggest Israel was using Gaza as a test ground for new killing techniques, an Israeli general says the blame rests with the accuser.
“We know of many instances when Palestinians set up killings in order to later accuse us of their crimes. Propaganda is also a type of weapon. We’ve know it since the times of Goebbels. Palestinians are just trying to turn the world’s public opinion against us,” insists General Shaul Givoli, former military governor of Nablus.
The Palestinian Authority has appealed for the alleged war crimes, including the use of DIME bombs, to be investigated by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.