Human Rights Watch confirmed that Israel is using white phosphorus in its military aggression on Gaza and Lebanon.

Human Rights Watch confirmed that Israel is using white phosphorus in its military aggression on Gaza and Lebanon.

In a question-and-answer document released on Thursday, the group said that it “verified videos taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively, showing multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border”.

White phosphorus, according to HRW, “has the potential to cause civilian harm due to the severe burns it causes and its lingering long-term effects on survivors.”

“Its use in densely populated areas of Gaza violates the requirement under international humanitarian law that parties to the conflict take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life”.

White phosphorus “causes severe burns, often down to the bone, that are slow to heal and likely to develop infections,” the report reads.

This is not the first time Israel has used white phosphorus in a war against the besieged Gaza Strip.

read more: https://www.palestinechronicle.com/hrw-confirms-israel-is-using-white-phosphorus-in-gaza/

archive: https://archive.ph/aJhmK#selection-1209.0-1215.101

  • zerfuffle
    633·
    1 year ago

    Yes, using WP in general is not a war crime, but that’s because it’s usually used for illumination in large open fields, not in densely-populated urban centers.

    Using WP over Gaza is. There is no way to avoid civilian casualties when using WP over Gaza because of how densely populated it is. There is no way to know who will suffer, how many, or for how long. All we know is that they definitely won’t get the medical treatment they need because Netanyahu’s government has been preventing humanitarian aid from coming in, prevented them from having access to food or clean water, and shut down their access to electricity.

  • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
    485·
    1 year ago

    It’s not the Geneva checklist. Also the only legitimate use for WP is illumination or smokescreen and I guaranfuckingtee Israel doesn’t need either for actions against a city.

    • zerfuffle
      183·
      1 year ago

      They need it for illumination because they cut all power to the city /s

    • kbotc@lemmy.worldEnglish
      166·
      1 year ago

      So far it’s been used over the water (illumination of ships) and near the Lebanon border as a smokescreen. It’s literally in the linked article.

      • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
        4·
        1 year ago

        Israel’s military said on Friday that it was “currently not aware of the use of weapons containing white phosphorus in Gaza”.

        If the uses are legal (unlike in 2009), why are they denying using WP (like in 2009)?

    • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
      9·
      1 year ago

      Also don’t know why they’d need to use it as a weapon when they’ve also shown they’re happy to just drop fucking massive bombs on them… Why beat about the bush with WP?

    • sab@kbin.social
      713·
      1 year ago

      Chemical warfare is fucking great when you intend to move in after - traditional bombs are too messy and destroy too much property.

      The logic is similar to Dead Kennedys’ take on the neutron bomb in their aptly named song Kill the Poor:

      Efficiency and progress is ours once more
      Now that we have the neutron bomb
      It’s nice and quick and clean and gets things done
      Away with excess enemy
      But no less value to property
      No sense in war but perfect sense at home

      • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
        82·
        1 year ago

        By legitimate I meant legal. WP is absolutely great for a number of other things that are supposedly frowned upon in modern combat.

        • sab@kbin.social
          115·
          1 year ago

          Yes, your message was clear - there’s no mistaking you for claiming Israel’s use of it is legitimate.

          I remember thinking once this war broke our that I bet they wish they could use chemical weapons, and it seems they’ve found a workaround.

    • parrot-party@kbin.social
      211·
      1 year ago

      They will probably need it for illumination when the ground war starts but they definitely don’t need it during air raids.

      • SheeEttin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        41·
        1 year ago

        If we’re talking actual air raids as in bombing runs, then yeah, it’s still useful for illuminating your target. Less so for rocket and artillery attacks.