BEIRUT, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- More than a month into the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal, civilians in eastern and southern Lebanon continued to suffer from the delayed blast from the cluster munitions left behind by the Israeli army during the 14-month conflict, Lebanese media and officials said.
Earlier this month, 12-year-old Mohammad Chehade was seriously injured by a cluster bomb in the village of Shabriha, in the southwestern Tyre district, while he was collecting scraps, raising concerns over the undetonated explosives left by Israel, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Retired Major General Abdul Rahman Shehaitli told Xinhua that the Israeli army had dropped large quantities of cluster bombs during its recent war with Hezbollah, in addition to the old cluster bombs left by Israel during the 2006 war, which the Lebanese military failed to remove entirely.
"Israel's use of cluster bombs again will exacerbate this renewed catastrophe in many Lebanese regions, and expose more residents to threats," Shehaitli said.
Although Israel acknowledged using cluster bombs during the 2006 war with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Lebanese claims that Israel used them in the most recent conflict could not be independently verified by Xinhua.
According to the Legal Agenda, a Beirut-based nonprofit research and advocacy organization, the Lebanese state documented 15 cluster bomb attacks in November alone, spanning the districts of Marjayoun, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, and Jezzine.
Cluster munitions are prohibited under international law because they release submunitions over a wide area, many of which remain unexploded and function as landmines, posing long-term risks to civilians.
Nasser Abu Latif, head of the Al-Ru'ya Association for Development, Rehabilitation and Care, said that the extent of the contamination remains unknown. He added that agencies are awaiting full implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel before they can safely inspect affected areas and begin clearance operations.
Although a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on Nov. 27, both sides have accused each other of violations. While the intensity of Israeli strikes in Lebanon has decreased, some attacks have caused casualties in the southern and eastern regions. Hezbollah has retaliated on at least one occasion, firing munitions into border areas in early December.
Samir Abbas, the mayor of Yohmor, a town in the southern Nabatieh governorate, told Xinhua that cluster munitions were scattered across homes, gardens, and cemeteries.
"An engineering team from the Lebanese army is working to clear the bombs near our town's Husseiniya and other affected areas," he said, adding that residents were asked to avoid any suspicious objects and report them to military authorities.
Karim al-Youssef, deputy mayor of Zilaya in the western Bekaa region, said this was the second time that cluster bombs had affected the village's olive groves since the 2006 war.
Olive farmers told Xinhua that they had received warnings from the Lebanese military to avoid the orchards due to the danger of unexploded ordnance, depriving thousands of families of their harvest and further straining Lebanon's economy, which is already reeling from the prolonged conflict and years of economic decline.■