Tel Aviv, March 18 (ANI): Footage reviewed by the Times of Israel suggests an Iranian ballistic missile aimed at central Israel was fitted with a cluster bomb warhead.
Cluster warheads disperse dozens of submunitions—each carrying several kilograms of explosives—over a radius of roughly 10 kilometres. Their use is prohibited by the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions; Israel, Iran and the United States are not signatories.
The weapon’s deployment produced multiple impact sites across the central region. Emergency services are responding to reports, and medics initially said there had been no calls reporting injuries at those locations. Direct infrastructure damage was reported: the Times of Israel said at least one submunition struck and damaged a road. Local police are at several scenes securing debris and unexploded munitions, and medical teams reiterated that no casualties had been reported at those particular sites.
Elsewhere in the centre of the country the situation was deadly. Magen David Adom (MDA) told CNN that two people were killed in a ballistic missile attack in central Israel attributed to an Iranian strike. MDA paramedics arriving in Ramat Gan declared a man and a woman dead; both suffered severe shrapnel wounds. In Bnei Brak, north of Tel Aviv, shrapnel lightly injured one person, MDA said.
Israel’s Home Front Command stressed the importance of following alerts and safety instructions, which it said have saved lives during the hostilities. Regular and reserve rescue and salvage teams rushed to impact zones to search for survivors and assist residents. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) posted on X that Home Front Command units were operating at the scenes; after assessments authorities later allowed people to leave protected spaces while warning them to remain cautious and avoid gatherings in affected areas.
Concurrently, the IDF said it carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah rocket launchers and operatives across Lebanon under Operation “Roaring Lion.” The military reported Air Force strikes to disrupt launchers and militants and said it has hit hundreds of Hezbollah rocket launchers since the operation began to reduce threats to Israeli territory.
The conflict has also seen American military action. A post from the “Department of War” on X said US forces are executing President Trump’s orders with speed and precision under “Operation Epic Fury,” claiming it has severely degraded Iran’s military. US Navy Admiral and Commander Brad Cooper was quoted saying US forces remain focused on military objectives, including eliminating Iran’s ballistic missiles, drones and naval threats. American aviators were reported to have flown more than 6,000 combat flights to maintain air superiority.
As part of these operations, the United States conducted strikes with “multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions” against hardened Iranian missile sites along the coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said the targeted Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles posed a direct risk to international shipping and that the 2,267 kg munitions were used successfully to neutralise the threat. (ANI)
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