US-made bomb used in UN-run school strike in Gaza, investigation reveals
GBU-39 explosive deployed in attack is made by Boeing
The incident killed at least 45 people, mostly women and children
Updated 07 June 2024
Arab News
LONDON: A bomb used by the Israeli military to strike a UN-run school in Gaza, killing at least 45 people including women and children, was made in the US, a new investigation has revealed.
A video reviewed by the New York Times and corroborated by weapons experts showed that the remnants of the device dropped on the school in Nuseirat, central Gaza, was a GBU-39 — a bomb designed and manufactured by aviation and defense giant Boeing.
“This distinct nose is unique to the GBU-39 munition series, and, due to its solid construction, it can survive the blast intact,” Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, said, adding that the damage caused to the building is evidence of the use of this type of precision-guided weapon.
A similar analysis by CNN appeared to confirm these findings.
The Israeli military confirmed it carried out Thursday’s airstrike, stating it targeted a Hamas compound operating inside the school. It added that “many measures were taken to minimize the danger of harming uninvolved individuals,” including aerial surveillance and “additional precise intelligence.”
Philippe Lazzarini, the director of UNRWA, wrote on social media that around 6,000 Palestinians had been sheltering in the school complex.
The school was also attacked in mid-May, during which the Israeli military claimed to have killed 15 Hamas militants.
Footage uploaded to Instagram and Telegram on Thursday shortly after the strike shows the nose tip of the GBU-39, along with objects such as cans of food and clothes covered in rubble near the site of the strike, suggesting the damage was recent.
In one of the videos, a man can be seen recovering body parts from the scene, holding up a severed finger to the camera.
This incident marks the second time in two weeks that separate investigations have confirmed the use of US-manufactured munitions in deadly Israeli attacks on displaced Palestinians.
In May, US-made weaponry appeared to have been used in a strike on a displacement camp in Gaza, during which at least 45 people died and more than 200 were injured after a fire broke out.
According to the New York Times, US officials have been encouraging the Israeli military for months to use GBU-39s, a lighter and more precise alternative to the heavier and more lethal 2,000-pound bombs previously used in the campaign.
“While they’re using smaller bombs, they’re still deliberately targeting where they know there are civilians,” Bryant added.
“The only thing they’ve done in going down from 2,000-pound bombs to 250-pound bombs is killing a few less civilians.”
MenaML hosts 2026 Winter School in Saudi Arabia to boost AI education, collaboration in region
Second edition of Winter School will be hosted in partnership with KAUST
Updated 16 January 2026
Zaira Lakhpatwala
DUBAI: The Middle East and North Africa Machine Learning Winter School will host its second edition in Saudi Arabia this year, in partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
The non-profit held its inaugural edition in Doha last year in partnership with the Qatar Computing Research Institute.
The initiative began when like-minded individuals from Google DeepMind and QCRI came together to launch a platform connecting a “community of top-tier AI practitioners with a shared interest in shaping the future of the MENA region,” Sami Alabed, a research scientist at Google DeepMind and one of the co-founders of MenaML, told Arab News.
Along with Alabed, the core team includes Maria Abi Raad and Amal Rannen-Triki from Google DeepMind, as well as Safa Messaoud and Yazan Boshmaf from QCRI.
Maria Abi Raad
Messaoud said that the school has three goals: building local talent in artificial intelligence, enhancing employability and connection, and reversing brain drain while fostering regional opportunity.
AI has dominated boardrooms and courtrooms alike globally, but “AI research and education in MENA are currently in a nascent, yet booming, stage,” she added.
Launched at a pivotal moment for the region, the initiative was timed to ensure “regional representation in the global AI story while cultivating AI models that are culturally aligned,” said Rannen-Triki.
The school’s vision is to cultivate researchers capable of developing “sophisticated, culturally aligned AI models” that reflect the region’s values and linguistic and cultural diversity, said Messaoud.
This approach, she added, enables the region to contribute meaningfully to the global AI ecosystem while ensuring that AI technologies remain locally relevant and ethically grounded.
MenaML aims to host its annual program in a different city each year, partnering with reputable institutions in each host location.
“Innovation does not happen in silos; breakthroughs are born from collaboration that extends beyond borders and lab lines,” said Alabed.
“Bringing together frontier labs to share their knowledge echoes this message, where each partner brings a unique viewpoint,” he added.
This year, MenaML has partnered with KAUST, which “offers deep dives into specialized areas critical to the region, blending collaborative spaces with self-learning and placement programs,” said Abi Raad.
The program, developed in partnership with KAUST, brings together speakers from 16 institutions and focuses on four key areas: AI and society, AI and sciences, AI development, and regional initiatives.
“These themes align with the scientific priorities and research excellence pillars of KAUST as well as the needs of regional industries seeking to deploy AI safely and effectively,” said Bernard Ghanem, professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science at KAUST and director of the Center of Excellence in Generative AI.
The program will also highlight efficiency in AI systems, with the overall goal of equipping “participants with the conceptual and practical understanding needed to contribute meaningfully to next-generation AI research and development,” he told Arab News.
For KAUST, hosting the MenaML Winter School aligns with Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global hub for AI research under Vision 2030.
By attracting top researchers, industry partners, and young talent to the Kingdom, it helps cement the Kingdom’s position as a center for AI excellence, Ghanem said.
It also aligns closely with Vision 2030’s “goals of building human capital, fostering innovation, and developing a knowledge-based economy” and “contributes to the long-term development of a world-leading AI ecosystem in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Although the program accepts students from around the world, participants must demonstrate a connection to the MENA region, Abi Raad said.
The goal is to build bridges between those who may have left the region and those who remain, enabling them to start conversations and collaborate, she added.
A certain percentage of spots is reserved for participants from the host country, while a small percentage is allocated to fully international students with no regional ties, with the objective of offering them a glimpse into the regional AI ecosystem.
Looking ahead, MenaML envisions growing from an annual event into a sustainable, central pillar of the regional AI ecosystem, inspired by the growth trajectory of global movements like TED or the Deep Learning Indaba, a sister organization supporting AI research and education in Africa.
Boshmaf said MenaML’s long-term ambition is to evolve beyond its flagship event into a broader movement, anchored by local MenaMLx chapters across the region.
Over time, the initiative aims to play a central role in strengthening the regional AI ecosystem by working with governments and the private sector to support workforce development, AI governance and safety education, and collaborative research, while raising the region’s global visibility through its talent network and international partnerships.
He added: “If TED is the global stage for ‘ideas worth spreading,’ MenaML is to be the regional stage for ‘AI ideas worth building.’”
The MenaML Winter School will run from Jan. 24 to 29 at KAUST in Saudi Arabia.
