Israel used banned cluster bombs in Lebanon, new evidence shows

Munition remnants found in Lebanon belong to widely outlawed cluster bombs, experts have said. Six different experts claim the remnants, found in two locations in the country, are of the deadly bombs. The Guardian said it is the first evidence of Israeli use in 20 years.

Each bomb contains smaller ‘bomblets’ which, if they don’t go off immediately, effectively become a minefield.

The Guardian said:

two different types of Israeli cluster munitions found in three different locations: south of the Litani River in the forested valleys of Wadi Zibqin, Wadi Barghouz and Wadi Deir Siryan.

124 nations are signed up to the global convention on cluster bombs. The treaty prohibits all: “use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions”. Specifically:

Separate articles in the Convention concern destruction of stockpiles, clearance of contaminated areas, assistance to victims, submission of transparency reports, and adoption of domestic legislation.

Israel is not a signatory. An IDF spokesperson refused to confirm or deny it used the bombs in this case, but say its use of weapons was always “lawful”.

Israel attacked Lebanon in October 2023 and the country’s south remain devastated after months of bombing. The assault was additional to the genocide in Gaza, where other forms of unexploded ordnance (UXO) remain a deadly threat to life and limb.

A deadly legacy costing Gazan lives

On 19 November, the Canary’s Alaa Shamali reported on the Israeli unexploded munitions left across the zone. Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Government Media Office in Gaza, said:

unexploded ordnance poses immediate and long-term dangers, most notably the possibility of sudden explosion when moved or touched, the spread of deadly shrapnel, damage to property, and disruption of humanitarian and field work.

The bombs affect relief and rescue efforts, and:

Children, displaced persons and workers are most vulnerable to these dangers.

The last time Israel was found to have used cluster bombs was also in Lebanon, during the 2006 war. Israeli’s investigation of itself exonerated its occupation forces of wrongdoing. Human Rights Watch reported:

an estimated 4 million submunitions [cluster bomblets] on south Lebanon, the vast majority over the final three days [of the 2006 attack] when Israel knew a settlement was imminent.

In 2024, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) published an excellent survey of the mortars, missiles, bombs, drones and lethal AI systems Israel uses in Gaza. You can read it here.

Israeli bombing continues despite official ‘ceasefire’ arrangements. And the various kinds of unspent bombs present a terrible danger to Gazans and Lebanese communities alike. But it is worth recalling, this is just the latest layer of legacy munitions littering a landscape scarred by decades of colonial policing in the region.

Featured image via the Canary