The United Nations reports that there may be up to 100,000 unexploded cluster bombs scattered throughout southern Lebanon.
Israel is expected to provide maps of bombed areas to facilitate locating the cluster bombs. Even with Israel's maps, the UN Mine Clearing Center estimates that it will take over a year to clean up the unexploded ordinance.
Although cluster bombs are often referred to by the military and the media as "laser-guided precision weapons," their targeting is not precise. The bombs can indiscriminately affect an area several kilometers square. Many smaller, grenade-sized "bomblets" released from each cluster bomb aggravate the destruction.
International law forbids the use of cluster bombs in civilian areas. Jan Egeland, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, expresses disappointment with what the UN's clearing teams are finding on the ground. "They are shocked," he says, "by seeing how many unexploded bombs, grenades, mines, and especially cluster bomb bomblets there are."
Egeland estimates around 100,000 such objects are littered on the surface, most from Israeli forces in the final days of the war. He questions the use of numerous cluster bombs prior to the ceasefire, and wonders why so many were left unexploded.
Dr. Paul Cornish of the Royal Institute of International Affairs concludes that Israel's late bombing offensive was meant to turn the entire region of Lebanon into a "no-go zone," denying southern Lebanon to Hezbollah and/or returning Lebanese civilians.
The U.S. State Department is investigating if Israel improperly used American-made cluster bombs in civilian areas. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan suspended bomb shipments for 6 years due to similar abuses.
The following video report was produced by ITN and first broadcast by UK Channel 4 on August 31, 2006.
The United Nations reports that there may be up to 100,000 unexploded cluster bombs scattered throughout southern Lebanon.