Human Right Watch Finds Evidence Israel Used Prohibited Phosphorus in South Lebanon

JAKARTA - Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Israel of illegally using white phosphorus in a residential area in a city in southern Lebanon last week.

In a report released yesterday, the New York-based human rights group said the Israeli military fired white phosphorus delivered by artillery on March 3 over the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor, describing the use of the incendiary substance in a populated area as an illegal act.

HRW said it had verified and geolocated seven images showing white phosphorus munitions exploding in the air placed over parts of the city's residential neighborhoods, as well as civil defense officers responding to fires that occurred in at least two houses and one vehicle.

"Israel must immediately stop this practice, and countries that supply weapons to Israel, including white phosphorus ammunition, must suspend military aid and arms sales and pressure Israel to stop firing such ammunition in residential areas," Ramzi Kaiss, HRW researcher for Lebanon, said in the report, reported by Daily Sabah (10/3).

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported on Sunday that Israeli forces targeted the towns of Khiam and Tal Nahas, near the Israeli border, with artillery and phosphorous fire.

Last month, Israel was also accused of spraying glyphosate herbicides and pesticides of unknown composition on farmland along the Lebanese border and in the Quneitra countryside in southern Syria.

White phosphorus is a chemical that burns when it comes into contact with oxygen and is commonly used to make smoke screens or illuminate battlefields.

However, this substance can also serve as a burning weapon that is capable of causing fires, severe burns, respiratory damage, organ failure, and death.

Israel, which has continued to launch attacks targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire, has launched several waves of attacks across Lebanon since last week and deployed ground troops to the border area after the Iran-backed group launched an attack on it.

The Israeli army has repeatedly urged residents living south of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, to evacuate the area.

Lebanese authorities and HRW for years have accused Israel of using controversial white phosphorus munitions in attacks that officials say have harmed civilians and the environment.