Weapons experts say the missile appears to be a SPICE 2000, which are known to have been provided to Israel by the US [Getty]
A SPICE 2000 missile was used by Israel to level a high-rise building in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, a missiles expert has said.
The ten-story block in Beirut’s Tayouneh neighbourhood was flattened shortly after an evacuation order was issued by the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee.
The building was “completely destroyed”, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Video captured of the bombing showed the missile striking the base of the building before the residential block collapsed to the ground.
Still images of the missile falling towards the building were also captured, allowing for comparison with previously published images of SPICE 2000 kits.
Shaan Shaikh, a missiles expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Lebanese news outlet L’Orient Today that the missile was a SPICE 2000.
SPICE, an abbreviation for Smart, Precise-Impact and Cost-Effective, is a kit that can be attached to 2,0000-pound unguided bombs to carry out precision strikes.
As early on in the war as October 2023, the US had sent “Spice Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies” to Israel worth $320 million, the New York Times reported at the time.
The kits, made by Rafael USA, an arms firm with links to Rafael, an weapons company owned by Israel’s ministry of defence.
Former US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician Trevor Ball also agreed that the missile used was a SPICE, L’Orient Today reported.
The Israeli army has regularly used SPICE missiles in Gaza, where they have been dropped in densely populated civilian areas.
Israeli strikes have killed 2,530 people in Lebanon, with close to 12,000 people injured, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Israel intensified its strikes on Lebanon in September, after nearly a year of trading cross-border fire with Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy the Lebanese group’s military capabilities to allow around 60,000 evacuated Israelis to return to settlements in Israel’s north.
Clashes have also taken place between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the Israel is attempting a ground invasion.
