Rabat – Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions over residential areas in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor earlier this month, calling the alleged strike unlawful and warning of the dangers such actions pose to civilians.
The New York-based rights organization said in a report that the Israeli military fired artillery shells containing white phosphorus over homes in Yohmor on March 3.
HRW said it had verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions detonating above a residential area of the town. According to the group, the images also showed civil defense workers responding to fires that broke out in at least two houses and a car.
In response to the accusations, the Israeli military said it was “currently unaware and cannot confirm use of shells that contain white phosphorus in Lebanon as claimed.”
The army added that its policy is not to use shells containing white phosphorus in densely populated areas, although it said there are “certain exceptions.”
‘Extremely alarming’
White phosphorus is a chemical substance that ignites on contact with oxygen. Militaries sometimes use it to create smokescreens or illuminate battlefields. However, it can also function as an incendiary weapon capable of causing fires and severe injuries, including deep burns, respiratory damage, and organ failure and death.
HRW warned that using the munition in residential areas poses serious risks to civilians.
“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, HRW’s Lebanon researcher.
Kaiss called on Israel to immediately stop using such munitions in populated areas and urged countries supplying Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus rounds, to suspend military assistance and arms sales until the practice ends.
Israel has carried out multiple waves of strikes across Lebanon since last week and has deployed ground troops into border areas after attacks by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group. The Israeli military has repeatedly urged residents living south of the Israeli border to evacuate.
Authorities in Beirut say Israeli strikes have killed at least 394 people and displaced more than half a million since the escalation.
Not the first time Israel uses white phosphorus in strikes
Lebanon and rights groups have previously accused Israel of using white phosphorus in the country in recent years, allegations Israel has disputed.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Sunday that Israeli forces targeted the border towns of Khiam and Tal Nahas with artillery and phosphorus shelling.
The latest accusations come amid growing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. Last month, Lebanon also accused Israel of spraying the herbicide glyphosate along the Lebanese side of the frontier, an act President Joseph Aoun described as a “crime against the environment.”