Cafe bomb may be IDF war crime, say experts

The Israeli military used a 500lb bomb - a powerful and indiscriminate weapon that generates a massive blast wave and scatters shrapnel over a wide area - when it attacked a target in a crowded beachfront cafe in Gaza on Monday, evidence seen by the Guardian has revealed.

- Jason Burke

The use of such a munition despite the known presence of many unprotected civilians is almost certainly unlawful and may constitute a war crime, international law experts have said.

Fragments of the weapon photographed by the Guardian from the ruins of the al-Baqa cafe have been identified by ordnance experts as parts of an MK-82 general-purpose 500lb bomb, a US-made staple of many bombing campaigns.

The large crater left by the explosion is further evidence of the use of a large and powerful bomb such as the MK-82, two ordnance experts said.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said the attack on the cafe on Monday was under review, adding that "prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance".

Officials said that between 24 and 36 Palestinians had been killed in the attack on the cafe, with dozens injured. The dead included a well-known filmmaker and an artist, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mother and a four-year-old. Among the injured were a boy of 14 and a 12-year-old girl.

Under international law based on the Geneva conventions, a military force is forbidden to launch attacks that cause "incidental loss of civilian life" that is "excessive or disproportionate" to the military advantage that will be gained.

What is considered acceptable is open to interpretation, but only a target whose elimination might have a very significant impact on the course of a conflict could justify the death of dozens of civilians, experts say.