[1/3]A rescuer looks on amid rubble after Israeli attacks in Gaza City, October 11, 2023. Portal/Mohammed Salem LICENSES
JERUSALEM, Oct 13 (Portal) – Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, saying the use of such weapons puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury .
Asked for comment on the allegations, the Israeli military said it was “currently unaware of the use of white phosphorus weapons in Gaza.” There was no comment on the human rights watchdog’s allegations about their deployment in Lebanon.
Israel is bombing Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas rampage in southern Israeli cities that killed at least 1,300 people this week. At least 1,500 Palestinians were killed. Israel has also traded disagreements with the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Human Rights Watch said it reviewed videos taken on October 10 in Lebanon and on October 11 in Gaza showing “several airstrikes of white phosphorus artillery fire over the port of Gaza City and two rural locations along the Israeli- Lebanese border” showed.
Links were provided to two videos posted on social media that said they showed “the use of 155mm white phosphorus artillery shells, apparently as a smokescreen, marking or signaling.” Both showed scenes near the Israel-Lebanon border, it said.
The group did not provide links to videos showing its alleged operations in Gaza. Palestinian television channels have broadcast videos in recent days showing thin clouds of white smoke in the sky over Gaza, allegedly caused by such munitions.
Portal could not independently verify the rights group’s accounts.
The Israeli military announced in 2013 that it was phasing out white phosphorus smoke-shielding munitions used during the 2008–2009 Gaza offensive, prompting accusations of war crimes from various human rights groups.
The military did not say at the time whether it would also consider using white phosphorus as a weapon, designed to burn enemy positions.
White phosphorus ammunition can be legally used on battlefields to create smokescreens, provide lighting, mark targets, or burn bunkers and buildings.
Because of its legal use, white phosphorus is not banned as a chemical weapon under international conventions, but it can cause severe burns and start fires.
White phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon under Protocol III of the Convention Prohibiting the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons. The protocol prohibits the use of incendiary weapons against military targets among civilians, although Israel has not signed it and is not bound by it.
(This story has been re-archived to remove a redundant word in paragraph 5)
Reporting by Emily Rose and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Diane Craft
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