Israel likely used U.S.-made 2,000-pound bombs in Nasrallah strike, visuals show

Three analysts who reviewed a video shared by the Israeli air force on Saturday said it showed fighter jets carrying multiple 2,000-pound-class bombs, at least some of which were U.S.-made BLU-109s and JDAM guidance kits.

In the video, eight F-15 planes carrying at least 16 2,000-pound bombs take off. “Air force planes eliminating Hasan Nasrallah and the Hezbollah headquarters in Lebanon,” reads the descriptive text accompanying the video. Photos released by the IDF showed individual planes fitted with at least three and as many as six BLU-109s each.

The warheads are designed to penetrate up to six feet of reinforced concrete, according to Trevor Ball, a former explosive ordnance disposal technician for the U.S. Army.

The attack leveled at least two large buildings and caused heavy damage to an area spanning 1,000 feet, according to photos and videos.

Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, referred questions about the operation to the IDF. An IDF spokesperson told The Post, “Dozens of munitions hit the target within seconds with very high precision, and this is part of what is required to hit underground sites at this depth.” They declined to comment further on the strike. U.S. officials have said they received no advance warning from the Israelis about the attack.

“It is a mess of a site,” Ball said of the strike’s aftermath. “It’s possible dozens of 2,000-pound bombs were used,” he added after reviewing new video of a large crater where the two buildings previously stood.

One video, filmed from a window, shows at least four distinct columns rising above the southern Beirut suburb of Dahyieh. The plumes appear to be dozens of feet wide and high, billowing above the buildings below. Screams are audible in the background.

Warplanes then dropped at least five additional munitions, according to a second video verified by The Post. After they land, a fireball erupts. It was not immediately clear from the video what munition was used.

“Initial available videos of the strike show that numerous large air-delivered bombs were used,” N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, wrote in a message to The Post. Jenzen-Jones added that the repeated impacts from multiple munitions suggests they were aimed at penetrating a heavily protected space.

This kind of quick succession of munitions is often referred to as “daisy-chaining,” a Department of Defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss targeting strategy, told The Post. He added that daisy chaining with 2,000-pound bombs is a common tactic in decapitation strikes: Drop the building with the bunker-buster bombs and then deploy a high-explosive demolition charge.

A video filmed in the immediate aftermath shows at least two craters, both filled by significant amounts of debris. Fire is visible in the background as rescue crews clad in neon yellow vests traverse the landscape of charred building materials in search of survivors.

Israel has killed 1,030 people in Lebanon since mid-September, according Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. There have been 6,352 people wounded, Health Minister Firass Abiad said in a news conference Saturday.

Joe Snell and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.