The U.N. Gaza fact-finding mission in Geneva heard testimony on weapons use by Hamas and Israel Wednesday from Lt. Col. Raymond Lane, chief instructor in the Irish Defense Forces School. Hamas rockets were Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that incorporate “destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic materials”, are radio-controlled and command-wire initiated, and take 90 seconds to emerge, position, and fire, according to Lane. IEDs have a comparatively low level of lethal damage, said Lane, and their primary impact on the target is psychological.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) learned lessons from the 2006 Lebanon war, adapting to the insurgents’ techniques to significantly reduce soldiers’ casualties.  It burned roads and cut through walls to clear the routes of IEDs, he noted, making it difficult for Hamas to prepare attacks. Lane said that there is no evidence that Fuel Air rounds or thermobaric or cloud explosives were used, but there is evidence of Flechette rounds use. “Israel used Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that have amazing precision, and may be the world’s leader in this device,” testified Lane. He said there is no proof that Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) rounds were used, and called white phosphorous “horrible stuff” while making no implicating statements about Israel’s use of the weapon.