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Human Rights Watch
LEBANON: ISRAEL’S WHITE PHOSPHOROUS USE RISKS CIVILIAN HARM
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June 5, 2024 12:00AM EDT
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LEBANON: ISRAEL’S WHITE PHOSPHOROUS USE RISKS CIVILIAN HARM
Airburst Munitions Used Unlawfully in Populated Areas
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Click to expand Image
Artillery-delivered white phosphorus munition being airburst over Kfar Kila, a
Lebanese border village with Israel, as seen from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon,
November 22, 2023. © 2023 Hussein Malla/AP Photo
(Beirut) – Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in south Lebanon is
putting civilians at grave risk and contributing to civilian displacement, Human
Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch verified the use of white phosphorus
munitions by Israeli forces in at least 17 municipalities across south Lebanon
since October 2023, including 5 municipalities where airburst munitions
were unlawfully used over populated residential areas.
White phosphorus is a chemical substance dispersed in artillery shells, bombs,
and rockets that ignites when exposed to oxygen. Its incendiary effects inflict
death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering. It can set homes,
agricultural areas, and other civilian objects on fire. Under international
humanitarian law, the use of airburst white phosphorus is unlawfully
indiscriminate in populated areas and otherwise does not meet the legal
requirement to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm.
“Israel’s use of airburst white phosphorus munitions in populated areas
indiscriminately harms civilians and has led many to leave their homes,”
said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Israel forces
should immediately stop using white phosphorus munitions in populated areas,
especially when less-harmful alternatives are readily available.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed eight south Lebanon residents and verified and
geolocated 47 photos and videos from south Lebanon posted on social media or
shared directly with researchers indicating the use of white phosphorus
munitions. In five municipalities, photos and videos show airburst munitions
containing white phosphorus landing on top of residential buildings in the
southern Lebanese border villages of Kafr Kila, Mays al-Jabal, Boustane,
Markaba, and Aita al-Chaab.
The mayor of Boustane said that two people from the village had to be rushed to
the hospital as a result of asphyxiation from inhaling white phosphorus smoke
following the attack on October 15. “These are civilians, who were both in their
houses,” the mayor said. “One was a member of the municipality, and the other
was a farmer.”
People told Human Rights Watch that the use of white phosphorus in populated
areas in south Lebanon contributed to the displacement of residents from several
villages at the Lebanon-Israel border.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said that, as of May 28, exposure to white
phosphorus had injured at least 173 people since October. Human Rights Watch did
not obtain evidence of any burn injuries resulting from the use of white
phosphorus munitions but heard accounts indicating possible respiratory damage.
“The most severe effects of white phosphorus are the dermal or skin effects,
which can include second and third degree burns that can lead to very
significant, deep necrotic and full thickness burns,” said Dr. Tharwat Zahran, a
medical toxicologist and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the
American University of Beirut. “Exposure to white phosphorus smoke could [also]
lead to acute upper respiratory damages including shortness of breath, fast
breathing, [and] coughing, but it could also have delayed effects, [including]
chemical pneumonitis, which might require hospitalization and respiratory
support through a machine.”
Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in south Lebanon highlights the need
for stronger international law on incendiary weapons, Human Rights Watch
said. Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons is the only legally
binding instrument dedicated specifically to incendiary weapons. Lebanon is
party to Protocol III, while Israel is not.
Protocol III applies to weapons that are “primarily designed” to set fires or
cause burns, and thus excludes certain multipurpose munitions with incendiary
effects, notably those containing white phosphorus. In addition, it has weaker
regulations for the use in “concentrations of civilians” of ground-launched
incendiary weapons – like the ones used in Lebanon – than air-dropped incendiary
weapons, even though they produce the same horrific injuries.
“Concentrations of civilians” is defined broadly to encompass populated areas
ranging from villages to refugee camps to cities. Human Rights Watch and many
countries have long called for closing these loopholes in Protocol III and
creating international norms that better protect civilians from the harm caused
by incendiary weapons.
At a national level, Israel should prohibit all use of airburst white phosphorus
munitions in populated areas because it puts civilians at risk of indiscriminate
attacks. There are available alternatives to white phosphorus in smoke shells,
including some produced by Israeli companies, such as the M150 smoke projectile,
which the Israeli army has used for its forces in the past as an obscurant, a
means of hindering the visibility of its forces. These alternatives can have the
same effect and dramatically reduce the harm to civilians.
Lebanon should promptly file a declaration with the International Criminal Court
(ICC), enabling the investigation and prosecution of grave international crimes
within the court’s jurisdiction on Lebanese territory since October 2023.
“Stronger international standards against the use of white phosphorus are needed
to ensure 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 action toward this goal.”
Click to expand Image
© 2024 Human Rights Watch
WHITE PHOSPHORUS USE IN ARMED CONFLICT
White phosphorus can be used as a military tool to obscure, mark, or signal, or
as a weapon to smoke out enemy forces. Concerns over its use in populated areas
are amplified given the indiscriminate technique shown in videos of air-bursting
white phosphorus projectiles, which spread 116 burning felt wedges impregnated
with the substance over an area between 125 and 250 meters in diameter,
depending on the altitude and angle of the burst, exposing more civilians and
civilian structures to potential harm than a localized ground burst.
White phosphorus ignites when exposed to atmospheric oxygen and continues to
burn until it is deprived of oxygen or is exhausted. Its chemical reaction can
create intense heat (about 815°C/1,500°F), light, and smoke.
White phosphorus that contacts people can burn down to the bone. Fragments of
white phosphorus can exacerbate wounds even after treatment and can enter the
bloodstream and cause multiple organ failures. Already dressed wounds can
reignite when dressings are removed and the wounds are reexposed to oxygen. Even
relatively minor burns are often fatal. For survivors, extensive scarring
tightens muscle tissue and creates physical disabilities. The trauma of the
attack, the painful treatment that follows, and appearance-changing scars lead
to psychological harm and social exclusion.
Rocket and missile attacks and armed clashes between the Israeli military and
various Lebanese armed groups, including Hezbollah, have continued since October
8, the day after the Hamas-led attack by Palestinian armed groups in southern
Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to the Israeli
government. As of May 29, at least 36,171 Palestinians have been killed amid
heavy bombardment and military operations in Gaza by Israeli forces since
October 7.
Human Rights Watch has documented the Israeli military’s use of
artillery-fired white phosphorus in south Lebanon and Gaza in October 2023, in
addition to previous hostilities in Gaza, including in 2009.
Human Rights Watch previously verified the use of artillery-fired white
phosphorus munitions in south Lebanon on October 10 in two locations near the
Israel-Lebanon border and in Gaza City. On October 12, the Israeli military
spokesman denied the use of white phosphorus munitions in south Lebanon and in
Gaza during a CNN interview.
On October 30, Amnesty International found that that an October 16 attack on the
Lebanese border village of Dhayra using white phosphorus munitions was an
“indiscriminate attack that injured at least nine civilians and damaged civilian
objects.” The attack included use of US-supplied white phosphorus munitions,
according to the Washington Post, which carried out its own investigation.
The Israeli military said that its main smoke shells do not contain white
phosphorus, but stated that “similar to many Western armies, the IDF [Israel
Defense Forces] also has smoke shells that contain white phosphorus ... and the
choice to use them is influenced by operational considerations and availability
compared to alternatives.” The military further said that such munitions “are
intended for smokescreens, and not for an attack or ignition.”
The dispersal of felt wedges from white phosphorus munitions, as observed in
photos and videos reviewed by Human Rights Watch, are consistent with
artillery-fired projectiles reportedly used by the Israeli military in both Gaza
and south Lebanon.
As of May 29, Israeli attacks in Lebanon since October 2023 have reportedly
killed at least 88 civilians, in addition to more than 300 fighters, according
to media reports. Attacks in Israel by Hezbollah and armed Palestinian groups in
Lebanon since October 2023 have reportedly killed at least 11 civilians and 14
soldiers. More than 93,000 people have been displaced from their homes in south
Lebanon and at least 80,000 people have been displaced from northern Israel.
METHODOLOGY
Human Rights Watch researchers reviewed over 100 photos and videos posted on
social media and shared by journalists, news agencies, and residents of south
Lebanon, in addition to footage shared directly with researchers. Researchers
identified use of white phosphorus munitions in 47 of these photos and videos,
then geolocated those photos and videos to confirm their locations and, when
possible, precisely identify the area where the burst felt wedges impregnated
with white phosphorus had landed.
Human Rights Watch also spoke to eight south Lebanon residents, including the
head of the union of agricultural workers in south Lebanon, a schoolteacher, two
photographers working in the region, a rescue worker with the Lebanese Civil
Defense, and the mayors of Kafr Kila, Mays al-Jabal, and Boustane. Human Rights
Watch also spoke to a medical toxicologist in Beirut.
On May 22, Human Rights Watch sent a letter with findings and questions
concerning the use of white phosphorus to the Israeli military but has not
received a response.
DOCUMENTED USE IN POPULATED AREAS
Through its analysis of verified videos and photos, Human Rights Watch
identified the use of white phosphorus munitions in 17 municipalities across
south Lebanon since October 2023. This includes five municipalities where
airburst munitions were used over populated areas. In videos and photos posted
on social media or published by news agencies from the villages of Boustane on
October 15, from Kafr Kila on November 12, January 14 and January 31, from Mays
al-Jabal on November 12, from Markaba on March 4, and Aita al-Chaab on April 3,
burning felt wedges visibly landed directly on top of residential buildings.
Human Rights Watch was unable to determine whether there were military targets
in areas where Israeli forces used white phosphorus munitions in south Lebanon.
The mayor of Boustane said that nearly all residents had still been living in
the village when it was attacked. “During the first week of the war almost all
900 residents of Boustane were still in the village,” he said. “After two weeks,
almost 700 people were left. [...] Then we had only around 14
families. [...] Gradually they kept decreasing, and now there are only four
people left.”
Data collected by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the
period between October 10 to 15 indicates that displacement from the village was
minimal until the date of the attack. When Boustane was attacked on October 15,
virtually all of the population remained in the village.
In Mays al-Jabal, the mayor of the village, Abdelmonem Choucair, said that
“around 25 people, all civilians, were sent to hospitals because of white
phosphorus during the first months of the war.” Human Rights Watch verified
photos and videos showing white phosphorus munitions being used in Mays al-Jabal
in videos and photos posted on social media on November 12 and December 5.
“The use of the white phosphorus munitions in Mays al-Jabal pushed people out of
the village and turned it into a military zone,” Choucair said.
The mayor of Kafr Kila said that he estimates that at the time of the white
phosphorus attack in November, about 50 to 70 percent of the residents were
still living there. “People stayed in their houses, although they would leave
for some time and then come back,” he said. “But from January onwards, the
village started emptying out. It was the use of white phosphorus and also the
direct strikes on residential houses that pushed people to leave.”
Human Rights Watch verified photos and videos shared by news agencies or posted
on social media on October 17, November 12, January 14, January 31, and March
2 showing white phosphorus munitions being used in Kafr Kila.
A photographer said that after inhaling smoke from white phosphorus munitions
used in an attack in Kafr Kila, he stayed in bed, sleeping, for two days. “To
this day, my wife tells me I still have a cough.”
“At one point I had to get closer to the white phosphorus smoke to get out of
the village because the phosphorus was on the outskirts,” the man said. “I had
my windows open while driving, and the smoke went into the car. I’m not sure
what happened but I’m sure that I inhaled […] I felt my stomach turning. My
throat, lungs, and stomach felt awful. I got diarrhea that night. After that I
couldn’t eat for a while, for about five days or so.”
Ramiz Dallah, a photographer from south Lebanon, who shared footage he took of
white phosphorus attacks on the village of Shebaa, which Human Rights Watch
verified, said that after one attack in December the smoke from the shells
covered portions of the Shebaa valley and the village itself.
“Many people started getting scared of buying anything from the village or from
the south because they’re afraid it may have been hit with [white] phosphorus,”
he said. “People didn’t want to buy produce from our village. I’ve smelled and
inhaled white phosphorus when they struck Shebaa. All this smoke inside my body
I don’t know what its effects are going to be on the long term.”
Dr. Zahran, the medical toxicologist, said that doctors found in some cases that
“people who went to check on their houses had secondary exposure where they
experienced respiratory symptoms due to inhalation of white phosphorus that was
still burning and present in the impacted area.”
ISRAEL’S POLICY ON WHITE PHOSPHORUS USE
In 2013, the Israeli armed forces announced that they were developing new smoke
shells without white phosphorus. The military said that it would nonetheless use
and stockpile its white phosphorus munitions until it had sufficient
alternatives but said that “[d]epending on the outcome of this development
process, the new shells are intended to gradually replace the current smoke
shells as the primary means employed by the IDF for screening purposes.”
The move to develop alternatives came after Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in
Gaza from December 27, 2008, to January 18, 2009, when the Israeli military
fired approximately 200 ground-launched white phosphorus munitions into
populated areas of Gaza. Israeli forces relied particularly on 155mm M825E1
artillery projectiles, which send burning phosphorus wedges 125 meters in all
directions, giving them a wide area effect. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
stated that the Israeli military used the shells only to create smokescreens.
However, in March 2009, Human Rights Watch documented dozens of civilian
casualties in the six incidents it researched. The white phosphorus munitions
also damaged civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian
aid warehouse, and a hospital.
This use of white phosphorus generated international and domestic outcry and
scrutiny. In 2013, in response to a petition before Israel’s High Court of
Justice regarding the Gaza attacks, the Israeli military asserted that it would
no longer use white phosphorus in populated areas except in two narrow
situations that it revealed only to the justices. In the court’s ruling, Justice
Edna Arbel explained that the conditions would “render use of white phosphorous
an extreme exception in highly particular circumstances.” Although this pledge
to the court did not represent an official change in policy, Justice Arbel
called on the Israeli military to conduct a “thorough and comprehensive
examination” and adopt a permanent military directive.
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* Middle East/North Africa
* Israel/Palestine
* Lebanon
Topic
* Arms
* Incendiary Weapons
MORE READING
* October 12, 2023 Q & A
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON ISRAEL’S USE OF WHITE PHOSPHORUS IN GAZA AND LEBANON
* October 12, 2023 News Release
ISRAEL: WHITE PHOSPHORUS USED IN GAZA, LEBANON
REPORTS
* April 18, 2024 Report
DESTROYING CULTURAL HERITAGE
Explosive Weapons’ Effects in Armed Conflict and Measures to Strengthen
Protection
* November 9, 2020 Report
“THEY BURN THROUGH EVERYTHING”
The Human Cost of Incendiary Weapons and the Limits of International Law
MORE READING
* October 12, 2023 Q & A
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON ISRAEL’S USE OF WHITE PHOSPHORUS IN GAZA AND LEBANON
* October 12, 2023 News Release
ISRAEL: WHITE PHOSPHORUS USED IN GAZA, LEBANON
MOST VIEWED
1. June 5, 2024 Report
LEBANON: ISRAEL’S WHITE PHOSPHOROUS USE RISKS CIVILIAN HARM
2. December 7, 2011 Report
"HOW COME YOU ALLOW LITTLE GIRLS TO GET MARRIED?"
3. June 14, 2018 Report
LEAVE NO GIRL BEHIND IN AFRICA
4. May 9, 2024 News Release
SUDAN: ETHNIC CLEANSING IN WEST DARFUR
5. May 19, 2024 News Release
SOUTH KOREA: EXTEND HEALTH BENEFITS TO SAME-SEX PARTNERS
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