Amnesty International Accuses Iran of Violating Humanitarian Law During War with Israel

Amnesty International (Amnesty) on Thursday accused Iran of a blatant violation of customary international humanitarian law during its recent 12-day conflict with Israel in June. According to a statement from the human rights organization, Iranian forces launched cluster munitions at densely populated civilian areas in Israel, directly threatening civilian lives.

Amnesty documented three specific missile strikes involving these types of munitions, which occurred on June 19, 20, and 22. These attacks targeted vital areas such as Gush Dan (central Israel), Beersheba (south), and Rishon LeZion, located south of Tel Aviv.

In a statement within the release, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International, said: "Cluster munitions are indiscriminate weapons that should never be used. By using these weapons in or near residential areas, Iranian forces endangered civilian lives and showed a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law."

Cluster munitions are designed to release a large number of smaller submunitions over a wide area, making them extremely dangerous. Furthermore, some of these submunitions fail to detonate upon impact, turning them into unexploded ordnance that can explode at any time in the future, posing a long-term threat to civilians. This use constitutes a grave breach of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, which prohibits the use of indiscriminate weapons that fail to distinguish between combatants and civilians