Rising Tensions
Guardian claims: Israel used cluster munitions in Lebanon
Remnants in south Lebanon allege that Israel used banned cluster munitions, including two new types, for the first time since 2006 war. Experts warn of long-term civilian threat.
According to the virulently Israel-hating newspaper The Guardian, photographic evidence of munitions remnants in southern Lebanon indicates Israel deployed prohibited cluster bombs during its 13-month conflict with Hezbollah, marking the first confirmed use of such weapons by Israel in nearly two decades.
Images examined by six independent weapons specialists show remnants of two advanced Israeli-made cluster munitions, the 155mm M999 “Barak Eitan” artillery shell and the 227mm “Ra’am Eitan” guided rocket, both produced by Elbit Systems, recovered from forested valleys south of the Litani River.Each M999 shell disperses nine submunitions that fragment into 1,200 tungsten shards, while the Ra’am Eitan reportedly carries 64 bomblets over a wide radius.
Cluster munitions are banned by 124 countries under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions for their indiscriminate nature and high failure rate, leaving unexploded “bomblets” that kill civilians long after fighting ends. Israel is not a signatory. The Israeli military declined to confirm or deny the use, stating only that it “uses lawful weapons in accordance with international law while mitigating harm to civilians.
”Human rights groups condemned the apparent deployment. “Cluster munitions are inherently indiscriminate,” said Brian Castner, Amnesty International’s weapons expert. “There is no lawful or responsible way to use them.”
Israel used cluster bombs in the final days of the devastating 2006 war. The Guardian claims that they left an estimated one million unexploded submunitions and that more than 400 people have since been killed or maimed by remnants.
Despite Israeli claims that the new munitions have dramatically lower dud rates (as low as 0.01–0.06 %), experts warn real-world failure rates are often higher.
The discoveries come despite a November 2024 ceasefire and follow Israel’s own condemnation of Iran for using cluster munitions against Israeli civilians during a brief summer exchange.
Of course, the Guardian neglects to point out why Israel needs to defend itself against Lebanon in the first place, but that's not a big surprise after their ceaseless vicious reporting.