(Correct spelling of “phosphorus” in title, add missing word “of” in paragraph 8)
Jerusalem, March 10 (Reuters) – Israeli forces illegally used white phosphorus munitions on houses in the southern Lebanese town of Yomor on March 3, posing a threat to civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday.
“The burning effects of white phosphorus can cause death or brutal injury, causing lifelong suffering,” Human Rights Watch Lebanon researcher Ramsey Keys said in a statement.
The rights group said it had verified eight images showing white phosphorus being used in housing estates in Yomore, where civil defense workers were responding to fires.
Reuters could not independently verify the panel’s findings.
The Israeli military told Reuters it was not aware of and could not confirm the use of shells containing white phosphorus in Lebanon. It added that it had not reviewed the same videos as Human Rights Watch and could not comment on the claims.
Lebanese authorities have yet to comment.
Earlier on March 3, the Israeli military asked residents of Yomor and 50 other villages and towns to evacuate in a statement.
Reuters previously reported that Lebanese farmers tested their soil to determine whether they could resume planting following Israel’s 2023 use of white phosphorus.
Lebanon’s National Scientific Research Council said that as of July 2024, Israel had launched 175 attacks using white phosphorus in southern Lebanon since October 2023, many of which caused fires affecting more than 600 hectares (1,480 acres) of farmland.
White phosphorus munitions can legally be used on the battlefield to create smoke screens, produce illumination, mark targets or burn bunkers and buildings.
Human Rights Watch said the use of air-blasted white phosphorus in densely populated areas is illegal under international humanitarian law.
White phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon under Protocol III to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons. The protocol bans the use of incendiary weapons against military targets among civilians, although Israel has not signed the protocol and is not bound by it.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have lasted for more than a week, killing nearly 400 people and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Human Rights Watch previously accused Israel of using white phosphorus in operations against Lebanon in 2023, but the Israeli military denied the accusation at the time.
(Reporting by Pesha Majid; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
