Explosive storm: hailstones trigger cluster bombs
BEIRUT, Lebanon - The season’s first hailstorm Tuesday was a blessing in disguise for cluster bomb-infested parts of southern Lebanon, triggering blasts from previously unexploded bomblets. No injuries were reported.
After a long dry spell across Lebanon, hailstones as big as walnuts hit villages and struck undiscovered bomblets scattered across the landscape, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC), confirmed that many cluster bombs exploded when they were hit by hailstones in villages near the town of Marjayoun.
More than 30 people have been killed by cluster bombs in southern Lebanon since last year’s war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The United Nations and human rights groups accuse Israel of dropping about 4 million cluster bomblets during the war. Up to 1 million failed to explode and now endanger civilians in the area.
Cluster bombs look like huge canisters. When dropped, they open in flight and eject dozens or hundreds of small bomblets, often across a wide area. Some fail to explode on impact and detonate later when moved.