Amid the war in the Middle East, Israel has accused Iran of firing cluster munitions at its cities. Defending against every cluster of these bombs is extremely difficult even for the Iron Dome, and Tel Aviv is naturally worried. At least three people have been killed, including two at a construction site in central Israel on Tuesday.
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Israel’s Iron Dome system is geared toward intercepting smaller rockets fired from short ranges and lower altitudes. However, it is not designed to destroy the clusters once they have dispersed into dozens of bomblets.
Cluster bombs: Why they are banned
Cluster munitions are banned internationally because it is almost impossible to use them responsibly. The nature of the weapon is such that it causes destruction indiscriminately when used. If they remain undetonated, which they usually do in large numbers, they pose a threat to civilian lives even years after the conflict is over.
Israel's double standards
Ironically, it was Israel’s unabated use of cluster bombs in Lebanon during the 2006 conflict that primarily led to the drafting of the Cluster Munitions Convention in 2008. To date, 124 states are part of the convention, which forbids not only their use but also their production and transfer. Ninety-nine per cent of global stockpiles have been destroyed, The Guardian reported, citing the Cluster Munition Coalition. Israel, not to the surprise of many, is not a party to the convention.
Since the conflict’s end, at least 400 people have lost their lives to unexploded cluster bombs, The Guardian said in a report. Up to 40 per cent of submunitions do not explode upon impact, the report said, explaining why this is a major threat to civilian life. Sixty per cent of cluster bomb casualties are people injured while undertaking everyday activities, according to Reuters.
How cluster munitions work?
Cluster munitions are container bombs that scatter into smaller submunitions when released from high altitudes. These smaller “bomblets” can cover an area the size of several football fields — effectively falling on locations and facilities far from the intended military target — before detonating. These could include civilian settlements, hospitals, schools, airports, and other sites. They can be fired from land or air. Each shell can carry as many as 2,000 submunitions, reports say.
After what is known as a parent munition is launched, it releases smaller submunitions at an altitude of seven to 10 kilometres. These bomblets scatter across a large area, from several hundred metres to several kilometres, trading precision for coverage. Thus, the damage they can cause in small, densely populated centres of countries like Israel could be severe.
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