As Al Jazeera reported in March, Israel continues to use white phosphorus munitions in southern Lebanon, causing lasting damage and driving away villagers, even as Israeli authorities threaten war across its northern border.
A new report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) agrees, showing that white phosphorus attacks are “putting civilians at serious risk” and “contributing to displacement.”
More than 92,600 people have been displaced from their villages in southern Lebanon since October 6, according to the International Organization for Migration.
“Israel’s use of aerial white phosphorus munitions in populated areas indiscriminately harms civilians and has driven many to flee their homes,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW, said in the report.
‘Lucifer’s Jaw’
In its investigation, HRW also verified the use of white phosphorus munitions by the Israeli military in at least 17 municipalities in southern Lebanon since October 2023, when Israel’s war in Gaza began.
They verified the illegal use of explosive munitions over populated residential areas in the municipalities of Kfar Kila, Meiss el-Jabal, Boustane, Markaba and Aita al-Shaab.
White phosphorus injuries can be extremely painful and necrotic. The oxides can reignite on the skin unless the burns are covered immediately and kept covered to avoid any exposure to oxygen.
Other symptoms can include severe respiratory problems, acute lung injury, serious eye injuries, second- or third-degree burns, or even serious bone diseases such as necrotic “Lucifer’s jaw.”
At least 173 people were injured by exposure to white phosphorus between October and the end of May, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Among them are verified cases of civilians who were rushed to a hospital on October 15 for asphyxiation after coming into contact with phosphorus.
And reported cases of white phosphorus continued until June.
In an investigation carried out in March into the Israeli use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera was told by Lebanese experts that Israel was trying to create a buffer zone, making the region uninhabitable and impossible to cultivate.
Agriculture accounts for up to 80 percent of southern Lebanon’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the United Nations.
Al Jazeera’s investigation found that Israel dropped 117 phosphorus bombs in southern Lebanon, hitting at least 32 towns and villages between October and March.
The impacted area covered almost the entire 100 km (62 mi) southern border of Lebanon.
Israel’s repeated use of white phosphorus has drawn the ire of international human rights organizations. On March 19, Oxfam and HRW called on the Biden administration to “immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel.”
Loopholes in white phosphorus
The documented use of white phosphorus has renewed calls from human rights organizations to close the gaps that see it used in populated areas.
“Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon highlights the need for stronger international law on incendiary weapons,” the HRW report states.
The HRW report urged Lebanon to submit a declaration to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enable an investigation and prosecution “of serious international crimes…on Lebanese territory from October 2023”.
Neither Lebanon nor Israel are members of the ICC. The court would need a formal statement from one of the parties to investigate.
Lebanon recently backtracked on an earlier statement that it would give the ICC jurisdiction to investigate Israeli war crimes on its territory after October 7.
Lebanon’s interim government voted in April for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit such a declaration of jurisdiction.
When the decision was withdrawn, some analysts speculated that Lebanese parties feared that an ICC investigation could also hold them accountable.
Israel has a history of using white phosphorus in Lebanon, which gives credence to the “buffer zone” theory, according to observers.
“The Israeli army attacked civilians with white phosphorus in the 1982 invasion, and since October 7 there has been a lot of white phosphorus used in forests, plantations, olive groves and fruit trees,” said Mohammad Hussein, head of the South Lebanon Agricultural Union. Al Jazeera in March.
Uses of white phosphorus ammunition during Israel’s siege of West Beirut in 1982 have also been documented.
After human rights groups accused Israel of war crimes for using white phosphorus in its 2008-09 Gaza offensive, the Israeli military said it would begin using it as smokescreen munitions in urbanized areas. , with unspecified exceptions.
“Stronger international standards against the use of white phosphorus are needed to ensure that these weapons do not continue to endanger civilians,” Kaiss said.
“Israel’s recent use of white phosphorus in Lebanon should motivate other countries to take immediate steps toward this goal.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
