On March 1, Iran fired on the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, killing nine civilians and injuring at least 46 more in the Ramat Lehi neighborhood. Today, in a new report, Amnesty International is calling for that attack to be investigated as a war crime.
Following a review of video and images from social media, as well as digital evidence they gathered from the site of the attack, Amnesty found that the damage – which included the destruction of the Tiferet Israel synagogue and a bomb shelter beneath – and trajectory indicate the use of ballistic missiles. What’s more, their investigation uncovered no potential military targets in the attack’s vicinity, with the nearest being an Israeli military base 2.2 mi away.
That the Iranian forces employed “wildly inaccurate” ballistic missiles “completely inappropriate for use in densely populated civilian areas” entails a violation of international law, says the organization’s senior director of research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, Erika Guevara-Rosas.
However, Amnesty International, media and humanitarian organizations report that this is not the first instance of unlawful arms use by Iran. The organizations claim Iran has been launching cluster munitionswhich pose significant civilian threats and are prohibited under international law.
The early March attack came in the wake of the Feb. 28 joint strikes initiated by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.The flareup between the nations has ignited into a full conflagration across the region, prompting strikes on Qatar, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and others.
Still, those touched by the March 1 attack remain devastated, with one family losing three teenaged children: “After I worked up the courage to go, I saw the synagogue was completely destroyed, and the [bomb] shelter was split open. The shelter wasn’t safe. It did not provide protection,” Rabbi Yitzak Biton told Amnesty International, “I lost not one, not two, but three children.”
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Overall, Amnesty International reports that the conflict has claimed the lives of 1,900 people in Iran, more than 1,116 in Lebanon and at least 16 across Israel.