Iran Strikes Rishon Lezion with Cluster Munition Missile

Iran fired a ballistic missile carrying a cluster munition warhead at central Israel on Day 22 (March 21, 09:09 UTC), scattering bomblets across Rishon Lezion, Lod, and Shoham. A daycare was struck — fortunately empty — and a crater was blasted in the street, flipping a parked car. A woman was rescued by her father after the blast destroyed much of her house. Magen David Adom reported no casualties. Iran has deployed cluster munition warheads repeatedly against Israeli population centers throughout the war. The Day 21 strike on Kiryat Ono (playground hit) and now Rishon Lezion form a pattern of cluster munition use in densely populated central Israel. Multiple human rights organizations have documented these strikes as potential violations of international humanitarian law.

Key facts

• •Ballistic missile with cluster munition warhead hit Rishon Lezion at 09:09 UTC, Day 22
• •Daycare struck — empty at time of impact; no casualties
• •Crater formed, car flipped; woman rescued from collapsed safe room
• •Impacts also in Lod and Shoham; at least 6 other sites in central Israel
• •Continues Iran's cluster munition pattern: Day 21 hit playground in Kiryat Ono