77 Winter 2026 The proportionality assessment, with respect to both civilian harm and military advantage, is based on the facts as they are understood at the time of the attack, and on the military commander’s reasonable judgment at that time, not on hindsight. The test is conduct-oriented, not result-oriented. As a matter of law, civilian casualties or damage to civilian objects, while tragic, do not of themselves lead to a conclusion regarding proportionality without an informed assessment of both the expected civilian harm and the military advantage anticipated at the time of the attack. 4. The Iranian regime’s conduct: systematic violations of international law and extensive harm to civilian life in Israel During the 12 days of the Operation, the regime fired over 550 ballistic missiles and over 1,000 armed drones towards Israel, not limiting itself to attacking military objectives. In many cases, and in line with its aim to eradicate Israel, the Iranian regime deliberately and systematically targeted civilian objects and population centers across Israel, concurrently with attacks directed at Israeli civilians by the Iranian proxies surrounding Israel. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei expressly admitted to targeting civilian objects in Israel during the Operation.48 Indiscriminate attacks and deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects constitute clear violations of international law. The projectiles fired by the Iranian regime had the capacity to kill and injure many, destroy homes, collapse highrise buildings, devastate large parts of city blocks, and cause significant further damage to the surrounding areas due to their far-reaching shockwaves. The regime made additional overt efforts to maximize harm to the Israeli civilian population and civilian objects in various ways, including by firing missiles containing cluster sub-munitions, such that multiple smaller explosives were released from the missile while in flight and dispersed over a radius of several kilometers in densely populated areas, intended to maximize their harmful effects on civilians. Dozens of ballistic missiles hit residential areas, financial districts, a hospital, two academic institutions, and religious centers, after interception efforts and air defense systems failed. These attacks killed 28 civilians and one off-duty soldier at home, wounded over 3,300 people and caused widespread damage and economic harm.49 For example: - A direct hit on a house in the Arab town of Tamra, killing four women of one family and wounding others. - A direct hit on an apartment building in Bat Yam, killing nine people, including a 7-year-old Ukrainian national who had come to Israel for cancer treatment, as well as her mother, grandmother, and two cousins. - A direct hit on an apartment building in Be’er Sheva, killing four people. - A direct hit on the Soroka Hospital in southern Israel, destroying one building and causing widespread damage to others, injuring over 80 people, and forcing the hospital to transfer hundreds of patients elsewhere. Had the hospital not evacuated the ward one day prior to the attack, the results would have been tragically and substantially worse. It is assessed that the reconstruction of this ward will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. - A direct hit on the Weizman Institute of Science, destroying some 45 labs, and wrecking research equipment and samples used for research on heart biology and other medical conditions, causing damage assessed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Many affected buildings have been evacuated, leaving thousands of people across Israel displaced from their homes. Israel also imposed a state of emergency, including restrictions on public gatherings, shutdowns of schools and workplaces, and closure of Israel’s civilian airspace, causing widespread economic and other harm. During the Operation, Iranian officials published disinformation to try and disguise its deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including specially protected sites. For example, following the Iranian 48. ‘Our Armed Forces were able to break through the enemy’s advanced, multi-layered defense and raze many of their urban and military areas …’, see Khamenei Media (@Khamenei_m), X (formerly Twitter) (June 27, 2025, 2:54 PM (EEST)), https://x.com/khamenei_m/status/1938566716419621267. 49. For detail, see Operation Rising Lion – Update, IDF (June 26, 2025, last updated July 16, 2025) https://www.gov.il/ en/pages/operation-rising-lion-update.
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