2023 Israel-Hamas War

GBU-32 JDAM in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War

OHCHR reported suspected Israeli use of GBU-32 1,000-pound JDAM-class bombs in Gaza, including likely use in the October 31, 2023 Jabalya Refugee Camp strike.

Weapon profileGBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition
SideIsraelRoleFire Support
GBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition, 1,000-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb kit, Munitions - 2023 Israel-Hamas War
Image source: F-22 dropping GBU-32 photo

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Israeli forces used or likely used GBU-32 1,000-pound JDAM-class bombs in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War.

Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report, OHCHR Heavy Bombs Press Release

The October 31, 2023 Jabalya Refugee Camp strike was the specific incident where OHCHR assessed likely use of at least four GBU-32s.

Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report

Open-source visual evidence located the October 31 strike site in Jabalya and matched a livestreamed explosion to that impact area.

Sources: Bellingcat Jabalya Geolocation

The GBU-32 is the 1,000-pound JDAM family member associated with Mk 83 or BLU-110 bomb bodies.

Sources: Air Force JDAM Fact Sheet, Boeing JDAM Product Card

Timeline

GBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition In 2023 Israel-Hamas War

  1. Jabalya strike assessed as likely GBU-32 use

    OHCHR later assessed that the Jabalya Refugee Camp strike likely involved at least four GBU-32 bombs, while noting that GBU-31 use could not be ruled out.

    Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report, Bellingcat Jabalya Geolocation

  2. OHCHR publishes heavy-bomb assessment

    OHCHR released a thematic report and press release describing six Gaza attacks involving suspected use of GBU-31, GBU-32, and GBU-39 bombs between October 9 and December 2, 2023.

    Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report, OHCHR Heavy Bombs Press Release

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The clearest public source identifying GBU-32 use in the 2023 Israel-Hamas War is OHCHR's June 2024 thematic report on Israeli attacks in Gaza from October to December 2023. In its discussion of the October 31 strike on Jabalya Refugee Camp, OHCHR assessed that the level of damage and crater sizes likely involved at least four GBU-32s, while noting that larger GBU-31 bombs could not be ruled out.

OHCHR attributed the attack to the Israeli Air Force and recorded that the IDF confirmed it had carried out the Jabalya strike. A same-day Bellingcat investigation geolocated visual evidence of the strike site in Jabalya and matched a Reuters livestream explosion to the same impact area.

Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report, Bellingcat Jabalya Geolocation

Timeline

On October 31, 2023, Israeli forces struck a residential block in Jabalya Refugee Camp in northern Gaza. OHCHR later assessed that the strike flattened at least 2,500 square metres, destroyed 10 structures, damaged at least 10 more buildings, and likely involved at least four GBU-32s based on the observed damage and crater sizes.

On June 19, 2024, OHCHR published its thematic report and a press release summarizing six emblematic Gaza attacks involving suspected use of GBU-31, GBU-32, and GBU-39 bombs from October 9 to December 2, 2023.

Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report, OHCHR Heavy Bombs Press Release

Operational role

In this conflict record, the GBU-32 appears as a medium-weight, air-delivered precision strike munition. The GBU-32 is the 1,000-pound member of the JDAM family, pairing a GPS/INS guidance kit with the Mk 83 or BLU-110 bomb-body class.

The public evidence reviewed here supports suspected Israeli use in Gaza, but it does not identify the aircraft that released the bombs, a specific tail-kit serial, or a named transfer lot for the Jabalya strike. The munition identification should therefore be read as a source-attributed assessment rather than a recovered-fragment identification.

Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report, Air Force JDAM Fact Sheet, Boeing JDAM Product Card

Civilian-harm context

OHCHR verified 56 people killed in the October 31 Jabalya strike and reported information about additional fatalities. Airwars, using a separate civilian-casualty methodology and later updates, assessed that confirmed Israeli strikes on Jabalya Refugee Camp that day killed at least 126 civilians, including 68 children.

Those casualty and damage records are included here to explain the incident context around the documented munition assessment. The weapon-use claim itself rests on OHCHR's crater and damage analysis of the Jabalya strike.

Sources: OHCHR Gaza Thematic Report, Airwars Jabalya Incident Assessment

Related Weapons by Role

Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit, GPS/INS guidance tail kit for free-fall bombs, MunitionsMunitionsJoint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kitGPS/INS guidance tail kit for free-fall bombsJoint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is Boeing's U.S.-origin GPS/INS tail-kit family for converting compatible Mk 80- and BLU-series free-fall bomb bodies into all-weather guided bombs. The family spans 500-, 1,000-, and 2,000-pound bomb-body classes, with standard GBU-31, GBU-32, and GBU-38 records separated from later Laser JDAM and JDAM-ER derivatives. Official Air Force and Navy records document JDAM's 1999 combat debut with NATO B-2 operations during Operation Allied Force.
GBU-31 JDAM (Mk 84 / BLU-109), 2,000-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb configuration, MunitionsMunitionsGBU-31 JDAM (Mk 84 / BLU-109)2,000-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb configurationThe GBU-31 JDAM is the 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition configuration built around Boeing's GPS/INS tail kit and either a Mk 84-class general-purpose bomb body or a BLU-109 hard-target penetrator body. U.S. military and Federal Register sources distinguish the KMU-556 Mk 84 configuration from the KMU-557 BLU-109 configuration, while direct conflict-use reporting traces GBU-31/JDAM employment from Kosovo and Afghanistan to Iraq, Yemen, Operation Inherent Resolve, the Israel-Hamas war, and the 2025 Israel-Iran conflict.
GBU-31(V)1 Joint Direct Attack Munition, 2,000-pound JDAM bomb, MunitionsMunitionsGBU-31(V)1 Joint Direct Attack Munition2,000-pound JDAM bombThe GBU-31(V)1/B Joint Direct Attack Munition is the Mk 84 general-purpose lane of the 2,000-pound JDAM family, combining Boeing's GPS/INS tail-control kit with a 2,000-pound-class bomb body. Official Air Force, Navy, Boeing, and security-assistance sources separate this KMU-556/Mk 84 configuration from BLU-109 penetrator GBU-31 variants, while direct records document exact or Mk 84-specific GBU-31 use in the 2011 Libya air campaign and the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict.
GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, 500-pound GPS/INS-guided bomb, MunitionsMunitionsGBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition500-pound GPS/INS-guided bombGBU-38 Mk-82 JDAM is Boeing's 500-pound GPS/INS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition, turning the Mk 82 bomb body into an all-weather precision air-to-surface weapon. U.S. Air Force sources list the GBU-38 at 92.6 inches long, 558 pounds at launch, a 14-inch wingspan, up to 15 miles range, and 5-meter-or-less CEP when GPS data is available, while combat reporting documents F-15E, F-16, B-1B, and MQ-9 employment in Afghanistan, Iraq, and 2014 Operation Inherent Resolve.
2 more weapons
Back to GBU-32 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack MunitionBrowse 2023 Israel-Hamas War

Sources