Israel has been using white phosphorous in its attacks on southern Lebanon and causing injuries to civilians in the process, a report by a leading human rights organisation has found.
According to a report by Amnesty International, Israeli forces injured civilians in southern Lebanon when they hit a border village with shells containing white phosphorus on 16 October, in an attack which was joined by at least three other incidents that the organisation verified.
In an incident which Amnesty described as “indiscriminate attack” that harmed civilians and should be “investigated as a war crime”, it reported that the strike on the town of Duhaira caused houses and cars to catch fire, with nine civilians having been taken to the hospital with breathing problems from the fumes. The group also cited verified photos it obtained that show white phosphorus shells next to Israeli artillery near the Lebanon-Israel border.
The report quoted Ali Noureddine – a paramedic who was with the responding emergency workers that day – as saying that “This is the first time we’ve seen white phosphorus used on areas with civilians in such large amounts,” adding that “Even our guys needed oxygen masks after saving them.”
READ: Israel drops white phosphorus bombs on besieged Gaza
White phosphorus is a white-hot chemical substance which, when fired into populated areas, can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone, and survivors suffer risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure. It is infamous amongst human rights advocates who maintain that it is illegal under international law
Israel’s use of white phosphorous has also been witnessed and reported in the Gaza Strip, where Occupation Forces are currently carrying out an invasion of the Palestinian Territory against the Resistance group, Hamas. According to the Associated Press, doctors working in hospitals within the besieged Strip told it that they came across patients with burn wounds similar to those caused by white phosphorous.
Israel and its military insist that they only use the substance as a smokescreen and not to target civilians, but have failed to address the reported use of the incendiaries in recent weeks.
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