BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli forces “unlawfully” attacked a village in southern Lebanon using shells containing white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary bomb, human rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday.
Human Rights Watch said after geolocating and verifying seven images, Israel used artillery to fire white phosphorus bombs into residential areas in the southern Lebanese village of Yomor. Just hours earlier, the Israeli military warned residents of the village and dozens of others in southern Lebanon to evacuate.
Human Rights Watch said it could not independently confirm whether there were still residents in the area or whether anyone had been injured.
Human rights advocates say firing the white phosphorus chemical into densely populated areas is illegal under international law. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh to bones. Survivors are at risk for infection and organ or respiratory failure, even if the burns are minor.
“The illegal use of white phosphorus by the Israeli military in residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Keys, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, it has insisted that white phosphorus is used as a smoke screen and not to target civilians.
Groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say the munitions were used repeatedly in southern Lebanon during Israel’s last war with Hezbollah more than a year ago, while civilians were still present.