WashPo says 'Israel' used white phosphorus against Lebanon
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The Israeli occupation used white phosphorus in attacks on Lebanon as part of its ongoing aggression that is coming alongside its aggression on the Gaza Strip.
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A white phosphorus shell from Israeli artillery explodes over Kfar Kila, a Lebanese border village with occupied Palestine, as it is seen from Marjayoun town in south Lebanon, November 22, 2023 (AP)
The Israeli occupation has used white phosphorus munitions handed to it by the United States against Lebanon in October, the Washington Post reported on Monday - though that is not to say that that was the only time the occupation used the internationally prohibited munition.
According to WashPo, the US-based newspaper got its hands on shell fragments found in al-Dhayrah, southern Lebanon, namely the remanent of three 155mm artillery rounds that injured at least nine civilians in what should be classified as a war crime.
A Washington Post journalist said production codes found on the shells match those by the US military to categorize domestically-produced munitions. One of the shells clearly has "WP" printed on it, which is consistent with white phosphorus rounds, arms experts said.
The internationally prohibited munition is part of multi-billion arms packages that the United States sends to the Israeli occupation, fueling the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has killed close to 18,000 Palestinians, at least half of whom are children.
Moreover, the Washington Post went on to independently verify photos and videos that had already been verified by Amnesty International as being the smoke of white phosphorus over the town of al-Dhayrah.
Residents reported suffering respiratory problems for days after the attacks as civilians were trapped in their homes for hours and could not breathe properly due to the toxic smoke.
Humanitarian law experts cited by WashPo said the US was obligated to track the behavior of its partners and allies whom it is assisting and force them to comply with US law.
"The fact that U.S.-produced white phosphorus is being used by Israel in south Lebanon should be of great concern to US officials," Tirana Hassan, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, wrote in an email obtained by the newspaper. "Congress] should take reports of Israel’s use of white phosphorus seriously enough to reassess US military aid to Israel."
Amnesty International underlines the incident should be investigated as a war crime.
Attacks on civilians
Although the Israeli occupation claims it was using the munition as a smokescreen, white phosphorus fell onto several homes and ignited wildfires, as well as wounded civilians, with black chemicals still being on the ground 40 days after the fact. Residents have reported that these chemicals combusted when they kicked them, which again proves that it is white phosphorus.
In a Q&A article about white phosphorus published in October, Human Rights Watch expressed concerns about the Israeli occupation's use of phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, highlighting the serious and long-term risks it poses to civilians.
Human Rights Watch substantiated these claims with video evidence from Lebanon and Gaza, which depicted multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the occupied Palestine-Lebanon border.
White phosphorus, with its dual capability for marking, signaling, and obscuring or as an incendiary weapon, can cause severe burns to individuals and ignite structures, fields, and other civilian objects in the vicinity.
White phosphorus is a combustible (ignites when exposed to oxygen) and a severely fatal chemical. The combustible reaction produces light, heavy white smoke, and heat of about 815°C.
White phosphorus is highly soluble in human flesh and causes deadly thermal and chemical burns that can go as deep as the bones.
Direct contact is extremely excruciating and can leave long-lasting damage to internal organs. Even inhaling its vapor can cause severe inflammation in the trachea.
Under International Law
The use of white phosphorus bombs, which fall under the category of incendiary weapons in international law, is governed by Article 2 Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (to which "Israel" is a signatory).
Article 2.1 reads that the use of white phosphorus bombs against civilians and civilian objects is absolutely prohibited.
Furthermore, Article 2.2 specifies that even targeting any military objective located within a concentration of civilians by airstrikes is also categorically prohibited.
The Israeli occupation forces had long used various internationally prohibited weapons against civilians in violation of international humanitarian law.
Israeli occupation forces employed white phosphorus bombs in 2006 against Lebanese civilians, in 2008-2009 against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and again in 2014 against civilians in Gaza.
In all three wars, "Israel" claimed to use phosphorus bombs for illumination purposes.
