Are cluster bombs illegal?

 

The legality of cluster bombs depends on whether a country has signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that prohibits their use, production, stockpiling, and transfer. 

• Banned for Signatories: Over 120 countries (including the UK, France, and Germany) have ratified the CCM, making cluster bombs illegal for them to use or possess.
• Legal for Non-Signatories: Major military powers such as the United States, Russia, and Ukraine have not signed the treaty. For these nations, the use of cluster bombs on a battlefield is not strictly prohibited by international law.
• Universal War Crime Restrictions: Regardless of treaty status, using cluster munitions against civilian populations or in a way that fails to distinguish between military and civilian targets is considered a war crime under broader International Humanitarian Law (IHL). 

Why They Are Controversial

Cluster munitions are heavily criticized because they disperse numerous smaller "bomblets" over a wide area, often the size of several football fields. 

• Indiscriminate Nature: Their wide "footprint" makes it difficult to avoid hitting nearby civilians or infrastructure.
• Long-Term Hazard: Many bomblets fail to explode on impact (dud rates can range from 2% to over 40%), remaining as active "landmines" that can kill or maim civilians, particularly children, decades after a conflict ends. 

Current Status of Major Inventories

While many countries have destroyed their stockpiles, nations like the U.S. maintain significant inventories. As of March 2026, U.S. munitions stockpiles were reported to be at historically high levels. 

Cluster missiles, too?

Yes, cluster missiles are covered by the same international ban as cluster bombs. 

In international law, the term "cluster munition" refers to the type of payload (smaller submunitions or "bomblets") rather than how they are delivered. Whether the bomblets are dropped from a plane (bomb), fired from a cannon (artillery shell), or launched via a rocket or missile, they are all governed by the same rules. 

Legal Status of Cluster Missiles

• Banned by Treaty: Under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), any munition designed to disperse explosive submunitions weighing less than 20kg is prohibited for signatory nations. This explicitly includes missiles and rockets.
• Recent Use in 2026: As of March 2026, reports indicate that cluster missiles have been used in the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
  • Iran has reportedly launched ballistic missiles carrying cluster warheads that disperse dozens of submunitions over a wide radius (roughly 5 miles).
  • Legality in this Context: Since neither Iran nor Israel are signatories to the CCM, their use of these missiles is not a treaty violation. However, human rights groups like Amnesty International have stated that using them in populated areas constitutes a war crime under broader humanitarian laws regarding "indiscriminate" attacks. 

Key Exceptions

Not every missile that carries multiple parts is "illegal" under the CCM. A missile is generally not considered a banned cluster munition if it meets all of the following: 

1. Contains fewer than 10 submunitions.
2. Each submunition weighs more than 4kg.
3. Each submunition can detect and engage a single target (often called "smart" or sensor-fused munitions).
4. It features electronic self-destruction and self-deactivation.

How has the war changed IDF treatment of Gaza?

 

As of March 2026, the war has fundamentally shifted the IDF's approach to 

Gaza

 from a policy of containment and occasional "mowing the grass" to one of sustained military occupation, extensive territorial reshaping, and systematic dismantling of Hamas's governance and infrastructure. 

Territorial Control and Reshaping

The IDF has moved from maintaining a border blockade to actively controlling the majority of the Gaza Strip's interior. 

• Expansion of Buffer Zones: The IDF has significantly enlarged "buffer zones" along the northern and eastern perimeters, in some places extending up to 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) into Gaza.
• Strategic Corridors: The military established corridors, such as the 
  Netzarim Corridor
   and the 
  Morag Corridor
  , to bisect the territory, isolating North Gaza from the rest of the strip and cutting off Rafah from Khan Yunis.
• Widespread Demolition: To secure these zones and prevent Hamas from regrouping, the IDF has engaged in what has been described as an "unprecedented engineering project," systematically leveling thousands of residential and public buildings near the borders. 

Humanitarian and Civil Policy

The IDF's treatment of Gaza's civil infrastructure and aid distribution has become a central point of international contention.

• Aid Distribution Control: The IDF has taken a more direct role in managing humanitarian aid to bypass Hamas, leading to the creation of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. However, this has often resulted in chaotic conditions and increased looting.
• Destruction of Essential Services: Large-scale damage to water, sanitation, and electrical infrastructure has occurred, reducing the daily water supply to less than 5 liters per person in many areas.
• Targeting Governance: The IDF has expanded its targeting to include individuals and facilities linked to Hamas’s civil administration, such as municipal headquarters and police forces tasked with securing aid. 

Military Tactics and Intensity

The scale and intensity of the current operations differ significantly from previous escalations.

• Increased Casualties: Over 73,000 Palestinians and 2,039 Israelis have been reported killed since October 2023, reflecting a level of violence far exceeding prior conflicts.
• Evacuation Orders: The IDF has issued mass evacuation notices covering a significant majority of the strip, resulting in the internal displacement of approximately 90% of the population.
• Ground Operations: Unlike previous brief incursions, the IDF has maintained a persistent ground presence for over two years, clearing and re-clearing areas multiple times to degrade Hamas's guerrilla capabilities. 

"Mowing the grass" is an Israeli military metaphor for periodic, short-term, and intense air campaigns against militants in the Gaza Strip, particularly targeting Hamas. It refers to a strategy of degrading enemy infrastructure and leadership to manage violence, rather than aiming for a permanent political solution. 

Key details of this strategy include:

• Periodic Intensity: It is designed as a repetitive, long-term approach to "cut back" militants and their capabilities whenever they become too strong.
• Targeting: It involves strikes against rocket launchers, tunnels, and senior figures of Hamas.
• Goal: The aim is to maintain security by limiting Hamas's military power, often accepted as a "management" tactic when a permanent solution seems unattainable.
• Context: The phrase was coined by Israeli strategic studies researchers Efraim Inbar and Eitan Shamir, framing the conflict as an inevitable, ongoing process rather than a war with a definitive end. 

The tactic has faced criticism for resulting in high civilian casualties and destruction, with critics viewing it as a strategy that fails to stop long-term conflict.