HRW says Israel unlawfully used white phosphorus in southern Lebanon, urges arms suspensions
Human Rights Watch said Monday it has verified evidence that Israel used airburst white phosphorus munitions over a residential neighborhood in southern Lebanon this month, a practice the group says violates international humanitarian law and endangers civilians.
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In a new report, the New York-based group said it authenticated seven photos showing white phosphorus fired over Yohmor on March 3, with fires breaking out in at least two homes. HRW said the distinctive “knuckle”-shaped smoke clouds captured in the images were consistent with M825-series 155 mm artillery projectiles that disperse felt wedges impregnated with white phosphorus.
Investigators said they also verified and geolocated additional images posted by Lebanese media the same morning that showed at least two artillery-delivered airbursts over a residential area, as well as photographs shared by the civil defense team of the Islamic Health Committee in Yohmor depicting workers extinguishing fires on rooftops and in a car. Given the proximity to the airburst sites and the nature of the fires, HRW concluded the blazes were likely caused by white phosphorus wedges.
White phosphorus ignites on contact with oxygen, burns at extremely high temperatures and can set homes, fields and other civilian objects ablaze. It causes deep, often fatal burns and injuries that can result in lifelong suffering. “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. “The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering.”
HRW said using airburst white phosphorus in populated areas is unlawfully indiscriminate because it cannot be directed at a specific military target and violates the obligation under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm. The group urged Israel to immediately halt the practice and called on key allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, to suspend military assistance and arms sales and to impose targeted sanctions on officials credibly implicated in grave abuses.
The findings come as Israel’s military intensifies strikes in and around Beirut. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported a series of air attacks Monday in the capital’s southern suburbs, including between the neighborhoods of Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik and in the Safir area. Israel’s military said it was hitting Hezbollah targets in Beirut after days of fierce bombardment in the south. At least 394 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in Lebanon since the escalation, according to the reporting, and more than half a million people have been registered as displaced as Israel issues forced displacement orders.
HRW said Israel previously used white phosphorus across border villages in southern Lebanon between October 2023 and May 2024, putting civilians at grave risk. The latest alleged use in Yohmor, the group said, underscores the urgent need for international pressure to stop the firing of such munitions in residential areas.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
