TEHRAN- Western arms experts have identified two bombs used by Israeli warplanes to strike a UN-funded school on Thursday that killed dozens of Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The bombardment of the school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in central Gaza’s Nuseirat town was analyzed by several experts as well as Western media investigations. 

Verified and authenticated footage taken in the aftermath of the raid shows visible fragments of two American-made GBU-39 bombs. 

In a statement on Thursday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 40 people had been killed at the school, including 14 children. 

According to the ministry, a further 23 children were injured in the attack, with some in critical condition. 

The death toll rose to 45 overnight, according to regional media. 

CNN alluded to the latest massacre as being the second time in two weeks that it has been able to verify the use of U.S.-manufactured munitions in deadly Israeli attacks on displaced Palestinians. 

The news broadcaster identified the GBU-39 small-diameter bombs (SDB) in a video filmed at the scene by a journalist working for CNN. 

The U.S.-made GBU-39 SDB has been the subject of much controversy recently. 

It was identified by many news outlets as the munition used in an Israeli strike two weeks ago that burned dozens of civilians to death at a displacement tent camp in Rafah, including a mutilated infant with his head blown off. 

As was reported at the time, the GBU-39 is manufactured in the United States. 

According to arms transfer data by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), America shipped 1,000 GBU-39 bombs to the Israeli occupation forces at the end of 2023. 

According to a Bloomberg report, the delivery was made quicker than expected by the U.S. arms manufacturer Boeing after October 7, and the bombs were flown from an unidentified American airbase to Tel Aviv. 

The Israeli occupation has renewed its air and ground assault in central Gaza, months after declaring victory over Hamas in the same area. 

Following the massacre of women and children in Nuseirat, the UN agency UNRWA, which runs shelters across the enclave said “in previous conflicts, single incidents like this would cause shock and outrage and would be remembered forever, whereas in the war in Gaza horror is nearly normalized”. 

Addressing a question on the Israeli attack on the school, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller attempted to downplay Israeli war crimes by alleging that Hamas members were present at the site. 

The UN says there were no Hamas members at the scene, and international law experts say that even if Hamas members were present, an attack on civilians would be in violation of international humanitarian law. 

Many experts have pointed out that Israeli warplanes would have never bombed a school in Tel Aviv if Hamas members were present there and the mass killing of civilians is a tactic to pressure Hamas to agree to Israeli terms at the negotiating table. 

Hamas has insisted on its demand for a permanent end to the killing of civilians, and Israeli forces withdraw from the enclave, while the Israeli government says it is prepared to discuss only temporary pauses. 

“We have shown all the flexibility needed to reach a deal but the Israeli occupation continues to refuse any commitment to end the aggression and pull its forces from the Gaza Strip,” a Hamas official told Reuters. 

“The (Israeli) occupation and the Americans are to blame for the absence of a deal so far because they don’t want this war on our people to end,” the official added.

As the greatest supporter of the Israeli war on Gaza, the U.S. has failed to pressure Tel Aviv to cease fire and allow talks for a permanent solution to end the genocide unfolding in the enclave.

Analysts argue the reality is that America has more Palestinian blood on its hands than the Israelis. 

The U.S. has regularly sent arms to Tel Aviv (many of them unguided bombs), drawing global outrage. It has also been using its veto power at the UN to shield Israeli war crimes and threatening the highest international courts from taking any punitive action against Israeli officials.