Iran Fires Cluster Bomb Warhead at Central Israel — 6 Injured in Tel Aviv and Petah Tikva

An Iranian ballistic missile carrying a suspected cluster bomb warhead struck central Israel on Day 9 afternoon, marking the first confirmed use of cluster munitions by Iran against Israeli civilian areas. Magen David Adom (MDA) treated six people with shrapnel injuries: a man in his 40s in serious condition in Tel Aviv, a 25-year-old in moderate condition and a 56-year-old in good condition in Petah Tikva, plus three others in good condition. More than a dozen impact sites were reported across central Israel — police officials confirmed the spread of impact sites indicated a cluster bomb warhead, as single-warhead missiles do not produce such dispersed damage patterns. The IDF dispatched search and rescue soldiers to multiple scenes. This was the sixth Iranian missile attack since midnight. The use of cluster munitions — which scatter submunitions over a wide area and can leave unexploded ordnance dangerous to civilians for years — represents a significant escalatory threshold. Cluster munitions are banned by over 100 countries under the 2008 Oslo Convention, though neither Iran nor Israel is a signatory. The attack targeted the Israeli heartland, striking Tel Aviv and Petah Tikva in central Israel rather than border communities. Home Front Command directed civilians to shelters, then cleared them to leave after the all-clear.