Israel reported to be attacking Gaza with new cancer-causing tissue-tearing bomb known as Dime

ISRAEL'S military has reportedly been using a new lethal cancer-causing weapon known as Dime munitions that rip the limbs of victims apart upon impact in the Gaza Strip with devastating consequences on women and children.

Over recent weeks, Israeli warplanes have been bombing Gaza hard and Hamas has been firing rockets back in retaliation. Israel said it launched the Gaza offensive to stop incessant rocket fire that erupted after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank and a Palestinian teenager was abducted and burned to death in an apparent reprisal attack.

Earlier this month, Israel bombed the Said al-Mishal Cultural Center, the Gaza Children's cinema, hitting it with 10 missiles and all five stories came crashing to the ground in a matter of seconds. Although nobody was killed in the attack, it attracted widespread international condemnation but Israel claimed the premises was being used by Hamas for military purposes as a command post.

International experts have now warned, however, that the weaponry Israel is using include the deadly Dime munitions developed by the US Air Force in 2006. Dime bombs contain tungsten, a cancer-causing metal that helps to produce incredibly destructive blasts which slice through flesh and bone, often decapitating the lower limbs of people within the blast radius.

Renowned Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, said patients are now showing up at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City with Dime-related injuries. Erik Fosse, another Norwegian doctor working in Gaza, added that the weapon causes tissue to be torn from the flesh and it typically amputates or tears apart lower limbs and patients often do not survive.

He added: “All the patients I saw had been hit by bombs fired from unmanned drones. The bomb hit the ground near them and exploded and it is highly likely that Israel has developed its own version of Dime."

Over the weekend, however, Hamas’ armed wing, the Iz al-Din al-Qassam brigades, released an unusual message in Hebrew on Twitter, titled When do we not fight the enemy?, indicating that it is willing to enter into a truce. Aside from its usual rhetoric, the message explicitly highlights Hamas’ determination to achieve a ceasefire with Israel, through which life can return to normal in Gaza and Israel’s security, particularly in the south, will be maintained.