(Reuters)-Iran fired at least one missile against Israel that spread small bombs to increase the number of civilian victims, the Israeli military said on Thursday, the first reported use of fragmentation ammunition in the seven-day war.
The Israeli military authorities did not provide further details.
News in Israel quoted the Israeli military stating that the missile’s warhead opened at an altitude of about 7 km and released about 20 subminions within a radius of about 8 km over central Israel.
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One of the small ammunition reached a house in the Israeli Central City of Azor, causing some damage, said the military correspondent of Times of Israel, Emanuel Fabian. There were no reports of bomb victims.
Fragmentation pumps are controversial because they spread indiscriminately underminions, some of which may not explode and kill or injure much after the end of a conflict.
The Israeli military released a chart to alert the public about the dangers of unlocked ammunition.
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“The terrorist regime seeks to harm civilians and even used wide dispersal weapons to maximize the scope of damage,” said Israel’s military spokesman, Effie Defie Brigade General at a conference.
Iran’s mission in the United Nations and the Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
“They are hateful weapons with their wide area of destruction, especially if used in a civilian area, and can increase the uncleaned war material left by conflicts,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.
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Noting that Iranian missiles can be inaccurate, he said Tehran should know that fragmentation ammunition “will reach civilian targets rather than military targets.”
Iran and Israel refused to join an international ban on 2008 on production, storage, transfer and use of fragmentation pumps that was signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities.
After ample debate, the US supplied to Ukraine by 2023 fragmentation ammunition for use against Russian occupation forces. Kiev says the Russian troops also fired them. The three countries refused to join the convention against fragmentation ammunition.
