Experts say that the Israeli military campaign in Gaza is now among the bloodiest and most destructive in modern history, in just over two months.

The Israeli attack caused a greater amount of destruction than the destruction that befell Aleppo in Syria between 2012 and 2016, or Mariupol in Ukraine, or the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II.

The war killed more civilians than the US-led coalition did in its three-year campaign against ISIS. The Israeli army has said little about the types of bombs and artillery it is using in Gaza.

But through explosion fragments found in various locations and analysis of raid footage, experts are confident that the vast majority of bombs dropped on the besieged enclave were American-made. They say the weapons include 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) of “super fortifications” that Hundreds were killed in densely populated areas.

With the number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza exceeding 20,000, the international community is calling for a ceasefire. Israel has vowed to move forward, saying it wants to destroy Hamas' military capabilities following the armed group's cross-border attack on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and took 240 more hostage.

Quietly, the Biden administration continued to supply weapons to Israel, but last week, President Joe Biden publicly admitted that Israel was losing international legitimacy because of what he called its “indiscriminate bombing.”

How much destruction is there in Gaza?

The Israeli attack destroyed more than two-thirds of the buildings in northern Gaza and a quarter of the buildings in the southern area of Khan Yunis, according to an analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by Cory Shear, of the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, and Jamon van den Hoek. , from Oregon State University. The two are experts in mapping war damage.

The percentage of damaged buildings in the Khan Yunis area nearly doubled during just the first two weeks of the Israeli attack. This includes tens of thousands of homes as well as schools, hospitals, mosques and shops.

About 70 percent of school buildings across Gaza were damaged, and at least 56 damaged schools served as shelters for displaced civilians, UN monitors said. Observers say that the Israeli raids destroyed 110 mosques and 3 churches.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian deaths by planting militants in civilian infrastructure. These sites also house large numbers of Palestinians who have fled under Israeli evacuation orders.

How large is this destruction historically?

By some measures, the devastation in Gaza has surpassed the Allied bombing of Germany during World War II.

Robert Pape, an American military historian, said that between 1942 and 1945, the Allies attacked 51 major German cities and towns, destroying about 40-50 percent of their urban areas.

This represents 10 percent of buildings across Germany, Pape added, compared to more than 33 percent across Gaza, a densely populated area of just 140 square miles (360 square kilometers).

“Gaza is one of the most severe campaigns of civil punishment in history,” Pape continued, noting that the war on Gaza is one of the most destructive bombing campaigns ever.

The 2017 attack by the US-led coalition to expel ISIS from the Iraqi city of Mosul was considered one of the most intense attacks on the city in generations.

That nine-month battle led to the deaths of about 10,000 civilians, a third of them due to coalition bombing, according to an investigation conducted by The Associated Press at the time.

During the 2014-2017 campaign to defeat ISIS in Iraq, the coalition carried out nearly 15,000 strikes across the country, according to Airwars, an independent group based in London that tracks recent conflicts. By comparison, the Israeli army said last week that it had carried out 22,000 raids in Gaza.

What types of bombs are used?

The Israeli army did not identify the bombs used. It says every strike is approved by legal advisers to ensure it complies with international law.

“We choose the appropriate ammunition for each target, so as not to cause unnecessary damage,” said the army’s chief spokesman, Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Weapons experts were able to draw conclusions by analyzing explosion fragments found at attack sites, satellite images, and video clips circulating on social media. They say the findings offer only a peek at the full scope of air warfare.

So far, US-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb fragments and smaller diameter bombs have been found in Gaza, according to Brian Kastner, a weapons investigator for Amnesty International.

JDAM bombs include precision-guided bunker-buster bombs weighing 1,000 and 2,000 pounds (450 and 900 kg).

“It turns the Earth into a liquid,” said Mark Garlasco, a former Pentagon defense official and war crimes investigator for the United Nations. “It destroys entire buildings.”

He explained that a 2,000-pound bomb exploding in the open would mean "instant death" for anyone within about 30 meters (100 feet). Deadly fragments can extend up to 365 meters (1,200 feet).

In an October 31 strike on the Jabalia refugee camp, experts say a 2,000-pound bomb killed more than 100 civilians.

Experts also identified fragments of 2,000-pound SPICE bombs, which are equipped with a GPS guidance system in order to make targeting more precise.

Kastner said that these bombs were produced by the giant Israeli defense company (Rafael), but a statement by the US State Department showed for the first time that some of the technology for these bombs was produced in the United States.

The Israeli military is also dropping unguided “stupid” bombs, according to expert analysis of two photos the Israeli Air Force posted on social media at the start of the war showing fighter planes loaded with unguided bombs.