The assessment was conducted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and provided to CNN by three sources. The analysis reportedly revealed that the remaining munitions were precision-guided.
By using the "dumb bombs" in such large quantities, Israel might be accelerating the already significant rise in civilian deaths despite the international community's calls to avoid casualties in the enclave, media reported.
In November, The New York Times reported, citing US officials, that the US had urged Israel to be more judicious and reduce civilian deaths in the enclave. Despite this fact, UN Children's Fund Executive Director Catherine Russell said on December 1 that more than 5,300 children had been killed in the Gaza Strip in 48 days.
On October 7, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing over 1,200 people and abducting some 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 18,500 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of the conflict, according to local authorities.