X069-ISRAEL BOMBARDEOS TEL AVIV

Iran has launched dozens of missiles with cluster munition warheads at Israel since the start of the war, posing a challenge for Israel's missile defense shield as they need to be hit before they split and disperse into smaller explosives.

Israel failed to intercept one of the cluster missiles overnight, and its small bomblets scattered into civilian areas in Tel Aviv. A couple in their 70s was killed in Ramat Gan.

Israeli military ‌spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that the couple was killed in their apartment by a single, cluster munition bomblet.

"This cluster bomb was fired by the Iranian regime towards a center of mass population, firing dozens of rockets towards the civilians, deliberately targeting civilians," he said.

Cluster munitions open in mid-air and scatter as many as several hundred "bomblets" over a wide area. They often fail to explode, creating virtual minefields that can kill or injure anyone who finds them later.

More than 100 countries agreed at an international conference in Dublin in 2008 to ban the use of cluster munitions. However, Israel and Iran have not joined the ban, and neither have major powers including the U.S., China and Russia.

Israel's Home Front Command, which issues safety directives to citizens during wartime, has published videos warning of the dangers of munitions, saying they can "become dangerous explosive traps," particularly for small children or pets.

The military has said about half of the missiles fired from Iran since Israel and the U.S. jointly attacked Iran on February 28 have been cluster warheads. They were also fired by Iran during a 12-day Israel-Iran war last June.

An Israeli military official said Iranian cluster warheads have about 24 submunitions, each containing approximately 2–5 kg of explosives. They break apart at an altitude of 7–10 km above the ground, creating dozens of separate impact sites.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. TWO SHOTS OF SIREN SOUNDING, MISSILES WITH CLUSTER MUNITIONS SEEN OVERHEAD

2. MISSILES SEEN IN SKY

3. MISSILE BEING INTERCEPTED IN TEL AVIV SKY, AUDIO OF EXPLOSIONS

RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

4. BALCONY OF DAMAGED BUILDING

5. ISRAELI ARMY'S INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, LIEUTENANT COLONEL NADAV SHOSHANIINSIDE DAMAGED APARTMENT

6. (SOUNDBITE)(Hebrew) ISRAELI ARMY'S INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, LIEUTENANT COLONEL NADAV SHOSHANI, SAYING:

"We're standing in an apartment in central Israel where two 70-year-old elders were killed by one rocket out of a cluster bomb. This cluster bomb was fired by the Iranian regime towards a center of mass population, firing dozens of rockets towards the civilians, targeting purposely the civilians. This is a war crime by the Iranian regime, both targeting the civilians and using this indiscriminate type of firing towards civilians."

HEBRON, WEST BANK (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

7. LARGE BARRAGE OF MISSILES WITH CLUSTER MUNITIONS SEEN FROM WEST BANK, AUDIO OF CARS BEEPING, PEOPLE WHISTLING/ VIEW OF BUILDINGS

8. MISSILE SEEN IN SKY, EXPLOSION AS MISSILE BEING INTERCEPTED

9. MORE OF MISSILES IN SKY

JERUSALEM (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. MISSILES WITH CLUSTER MUNITIONS SEEN IN SKY

RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

11. (SOUNDBITE)(Hebrew) ISRAELI ARMY'S INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, LIEUTENANT COLONEL NADAV SHOSHANI, SAYING:

"we have different answers to different types of munitions. We're doing everything we can to protect civilians today, and this clarifies more than ever the need to stop the Palestinian regime that is indiscriminately targeting civilians."

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

12. VARIOUS OF SIREN SOUNDING, CLUSTER MUNITIONS FALLING FROM SKY INTO CENTRAL ISRAEL

RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

13. SHOSHANI STANDING IN DAMAGED APARTMENT SHOWING HOLE IN CEILING

14. MAN LOOKING THROUGH HOLE IN CEILING

15. (SOUNDBITE)(Hebrew) ISRAELI ARMY'S INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, LIEUTENANT COLONEL NADAV SHOSHANI SAYING:

"we do everything we can to intercept the missiles as high as possible to minimize the damage, and we have different layers. The most important and most effective is offensive capabilities, we've been degrading their ability to fire missiles, active defence systems, and the passive defence systems, sirens and people going to the safe rooms. The combination of all that has had great success, but still not perfect. People in Israel have to listen to the whole Front command guidelines, and this Iranian regime must be stopped."

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

16. BARRAGE OF MISSILES FALLING FROM SKY OVER CENTRAL ISRAEL, AS SEEN FROM WEST BANK

HEBRON, WEST BANK (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

17. BARRAGE OF MISSILES FALLING FROM SKY OVER CENTRAL ISRAEL, AS SEEN FROM WEST BANK

RAMAT GAN, TEL AVIV DISTRICT, ISRAEL (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

18. DEBRIS IN FRONT OF BUILDING, SECURITY AND RESCUE OFFICERS AT SCENE

19. VARIOUS OF OFFICERS INSPECTING DAMAGED ROOM

RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL (MARCH 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

20. BALCONY OF DAMAGED BUILDING

21.DEBRIS OUTSIDE BUILDING

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (RELEASED MARCH 18, 2026) (ISRAELI MILITARY - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

22. HOME FRONT COMMAND PERSONNEL ARRIVING AT TRAIN STATION