"We believe the use of cluster munitions is always in conflict with a military's duty to respect international humanitarian law because of their indiscriminate nature at time of use and afterwards, said Tamar Gabelnick, the director of the Cluster Munition Coalition. Their wide area impact means they cannot distinguish between military and civilian targets and the cluster munition remnants kill and maim civilians for decades after use."
"Cluster munitions are container bombs which release many smaller submunitions, small bomblets, over a wide area the size of several football fields. The use of cluster munitions is widely banned as up to 40% of submunitions do not explode upon impact, posing a danger to civilians who might later stumble upon them and be killed when they explode. To date, 124 states have joined the convention on cluster munitions, which forbids their use, production and transfer."
Remnants of two types of cluster munitions were documented in south Lebanon, found in Wadi Zibqin, Wadi Barghouz and Wadi Deir Siryan south of the Litani River. Six arms experts examined photographs that appear to show a 155mm M999 Barak Eitan and 227mm Ra'am Eitan guided munitions, with Hebrew markings on at least one shell. These findings constitute the first indication of cluster munition use by Israel since 2006 and the first known use of these two new types. Cluster munitions disperse many submunitions, with high dud rates that pose long-term civilian hazards. Israel is not a party to the convention banning cluster munitions. The Israeli military did not confirm the use but stated it employs lawful weapons.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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