Rejecting ‘indiscriminate’ claims, officer says IAF carrying out ‘precise, focused’ strikes in Gaza

A senior Israeli Air Force officer responds to claims that Israel’s airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have been indiscriminate, saying it conducts careful procedures before hitting each target.

“Since the October 7 massacre, the Israeli Air Force has been conducting a precise, focused and process-based campaign. I will walk you through the principles that we keep in mind, while planning operations and address misleading claims,” says Brig. Gen. Omer Tischler, the IAF’s chief of staff in a video statement.

“Our planning principles include: 1. Striking targets based on intel, and military necessity for close air support. 2. Evacuation efforts: They enable us to strike and maneuver in areas with minimal civilian presence. 3. Selecting the right munitions to minimize collateral damage: This allows us to accurately strike Hamas even though it operates within civilian areas. 4. Real-time monitoring: During the strike, we are monitoring the target area. If it does not comply with our Standard Operating Procedures, we will abort,” he says.

Tischler in his statement also addresses what he says are “issues that have been seen in the media.”

“To start, our use of so-called ‘dumb bombs.’ The term ‘dumb bombs” describes munitions that are not guided-based. These are standard munitions that are regularly used by militaries worldwide,” he says.

“The claim that such munitions are indiscriminate or cause uncontrollable damage is misleading. Even though these munitions are not GPS-guided, they are still used accurately. It is released in a specific release point calculated by the aircraft’s system to allow the pilot to strike a target accurately,” Tischler continues.

The officer also responds to questions on massive craters seen in the Gaza Strip from IAF strikes.

“Heavy munitions are detonated underground, preventing fragmentation and significantly reducing the blastwave and debris as a result. In these strikes, the resulting crater visible in satellite images indicates that the underground detonation has actually occurred on a military target, and directly minimized damage to the surrounding areas,” he says.

“Additionally, in many cases, we use small PGMs (precision-guided munitions) to strike targets near sensitive areas. Those targets include rocket launchers, commanders, tunnel shafts, and command and control centers, which are located throughout the Gaza Strip,” Tischler says.

“But let me be very clear. In war, mistakes can happen. While they are exceptional, they are still made. We study them, learn from them, and make changes to our process as a result,” he adds.