Hezbollah’s use of cluster munitions in attacks against northern Israel on March 4 and March 15 may have constituted a war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday in a rare condemnation of the terrorist group.
Hezbollah launched cluster munitions at civilian towns in the North in response to the assassination of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, drawing Lebanon into renewed conflict. The terrorist group had already reinitiated hostilities on October 8, 2023, with intermittent ceasefires in support of Hamas following the October 7 massacre.
A cluster munition is an explosive weapon that releases dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions over a wide area. It was used repeatedly by Iran against Israel during the war in March.
Although Hezbollah’s cluster munitions did not result in civilian casualties, Human Rights Watch said cluster munitions can kill and maim for decades after they are used, as many submunitions fail to explode on impact and can act as land mines.
“Cluster munitions should not be used under any circumstances, and their use may amount to a war crime,” said Patrick Thompson, a crisis, conflict, and arms researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Not only are they inherently indiscriminate, but unexploded submunitions can kill and injure civilians long after hostilities conclude.”
The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which includes 112 state parties and 12 more states that have signed, prohibits the use of these weapons. Lebanon is a state party held to the treaty, although Hezbollah is not formally bound by it as a non-state armed group.
Hezbollah's use of cluster munitions against northern Israel is a war crime, HRW says
“The use of cluster munitions in civilian areas is a flagrant violation of international law,” Thompson said. “Hezbollah and all parties to the conflict should abide by the laws of war.”
Researchers from the NGO visited Metula in May and confirmed Hezbollah’s use of the banned weapon after analyzing impact sites and interviewing four witnesses.
Although Hezbollah publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks against Metula in March, Hezbollah denied to Human Rights Watch that it had cluster munitions in its possession or used them.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, HRW said, has also confirmed that Hezbollah fired unguided rockets into populated civilian areas. These weapons indiscriminately kill and cannot distinguish between military or civilian targets, making their use a violation of the laws of war.
Multiple civilians were killed or wounded by Hezbollah’s attacks between March and June.
Cluster munitions in civilian areas 'a flagrant violation of international law'
Hagai, 57, witnessed Hezbollah’s March 4 attack. He told the NGO he remembered running to the shelter with his wife and two children at around 4 p.m. before hearing multiple explosions.
On March 4, an attack struck a residential street on the southern side of Metula near the cemetery. Hagai, whose full name is not used for his safety and who lives in the town with his wife and two children, said he and his family ran to their shelter outside their house after hearing sirens around 4 p.m. They were instructed by authorities to remain inside for a full day as the IDF cleared his neighborhood of submunitions that fell during the attack.
The submunitions damaged his family’s two cars beyond repair, damaged 12 of his windows, and cut two water pipes in half. The authorities found a submunition on his roof.
Hagai told Human Rights Watch he continues to worry for his children’s safety.
“My son plays basketball here,” he said. “If the ball goes down the hill into the grass, I tell him to leave it. They checked the whole area for unexploded bombs, but who knows? I don’t know how thoroughly they can check the bushes.”
Hagai said the military counted about 50 impact craters. Although the road had been repaved by the time Human Rights Watch researchers arrived, they still identified seven impact craters consistent with submunition impacts.
Having analyzed photos taken by journalists before the road was paved outside Hagai’s home, HRW also concluded that additional craters had been created by the attack.
A house 50 meters from Hagai’s was also severely damaged, with the windows broken from the impact. The anonymous homeowner said multiple unexploded submunitions had been collected from outside her home.
HRW also found a photo released by the Israel Police that showed an unexploded BRB1-type submunition from a 122-mm. rocket, which held between 45-56 BRB1-type submunitions. The NGO said it was credible even if it could not independently authenticate the image.
Although HRW could not independently confirm the photograph’s location, researchers found no version of it uploaded online before March 4, and witness reports of about 50 submunition impacts in Metula on March 4 are consistent with the numbers reportedly contained in the BRB1 delivery system, as are the craters HRW analyzed.
A witness to the March 15 attack also told HRW she had heard multiple simultaneous explosions and was instructed by the military to remain at home for 24 hours as the streets were being cleared of cluster munitions.
By the time researchers arrived, the road had been paved over, but they were able to identify one crater consistent with a submunition.
A geolocated video uploaded to Telegram on March 15 also showed about 30 small explosions around the entry gate consistent with a cluster munition attack. Researchers were able to identify the area where witnesses reported seeing the cluster munition strike.