Iran's First Cluster Bomb Strike Hits Rehovot — Civilian Homes on Fire

On Day 21, Iran escalated its missile campaign against Israel with the first confirmed use of cluster munitions — a ballistic missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead that dispersed submunitions across the central Israeli city of Rehovot. At least two homes were hit, one set on fire, with rescue services responding to multiple impact sites across central Israel. No injuries were immediately reported. Cluster munitions are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, though neither Iran nor Israel are signatories. Their use against a populated civilian city of 160,000 residents marks a qualitative escalation beyond the single-warhead ballistic missiles Iran has fired throughout the war. The strike drew immediate response from Israeli rescue services and will likely intensify international pressure on Iran at a moment when France FM Barrot is in Israel pushing for de-escalation.

Key facts

• •First confirmed Iranian cluster munition warhead use in the war — ballistic missile with submunitions
• •Two homes hit in Rehovot, one set on fire; rescue services responded to multiple impact sites
• •Rehovot: civilian city of ~160,000 residents, home to Weizmann Institute of Science
• •Cluster munitions banned under CCM — neither Iran nor Israel are signatories
• •No immediate injuries despite multiple strikes; cluster bomblets create ongoing hazard in civilian areas