Amnesty International: Iran used banned cluster munitions in war against Israel
Amnesty International reported Iran's use of banned cluster munitions in the war against Israel.
Amnesty International announced in a report published today, Thursday, July 24, that new research and documentation obtained during the Iran-Israel war revealed that Iranian forces fired ballistic missiles with warheads containing cluster munitions at residential areas in Israel.
Cluster munitions are a type of bomb that explodes in the air and scatters small bombs. Some of these bombs do not explode immediately and may cause casualties, especially among children, in the future. Iran and Israel are not parties to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of these types of bombs.
Amnesty International stated: “We have analyzed images and videos showing cluster munitions, which, according to media reports, landed in the urban area of Gush Dan, outside Tel Aviv, on June 19.”
According to the published reports, on June 19, the city of Beersheba and on July 1, Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv, were targeted by shells that created numerous impact craters that were consistent with the remnants of cluster munitions seen in Gushdan.
Amnesty International also emphasized: "International law prohibits the use of weapons that are inherently indiscriminate, and carrying out indiscriminate attacks that result in the killing or injury of civilians constitutes a war crime."
"Iranian forces have put civilians at risk by using such weapons in or near residential areas," said Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director of Amnesty International. "The deliberate use of such weapons, which are essentially indiscriminate and uncontrollable, by Iranian forces is a clear violation of international humanitarian law."
Amnesty International also published a report on July 19, referring to the Israeli airstrike on Evin Prison, stating that, according to the organization's extensive research, the deliberate Israeli airstrike on Evin Prison was a serious violation of international humanitarian law and that the attack should be criminally investigated as a war crime.
