"This is what we’re operating against."
The aftermath of an Iranian cluster bomb strike on Rishon Lezion (IDF)[Missing Credit]
Latest IDF estimates found that around half of the missiles fired at Israel by Iran have been equipped with cluster warheads.
Cluster bombs contain dozens of smaller explosives, known as bomblets, which disperse across a wide area before impact.
This allows a single missile to cause indiscriminate damage in multiple locations.
More than 100 countries have prohibited the proliferation or use of cluster munitions since 2008 under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), but the US, Israel and Iran are not signatories.
Nonetheless, the use of such munitions on civilian targets or in populated areas is widely regarded as a violation of international law and, potentially, a war crime.
Commenting on their use by Iran, the IDF’s international spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, tweeted: “This is your reminder that the Iranian terrorist regime is still firing cluster bombs at Israeli civilians.
“This is also your reminder that intentionally attacking civilians is a war crime. By using cluster munitions, the Iranian terrorist regime is trying to maximise its chances to kill Israeli civilians.”
The aftermath of an Iranian cluster bomb strike on Rishon Lezion (IDF)[Missing Credit]
The aftermath of an Iranian cluster bomb strike on Rishon Lezion (IDF)[Missing Credit]
As Iranian strikes against Israel continued on Thursday, a woman was "moderately wounded" by shrapnel after a missile hit the northern town of Zarzir.
More than 50 people were injured in the strike, though most were only lightly hurt.
The IDF has since announced it will carry out an "extensive" wave of strikes on Tehran.
It has also repeated its call for civilians to leave Beirut's southern suburbs as it continues to attack Hezbollah.
Defence Minister Israel Katz has even suggested that Israel could occupy part of Lebanon in the near future, saying that, if its government fails to stop the terror group's operations, "[Israel will] take the territory and do it ourselves".
