Iron Swords - Law - White Phosphorus
Israeli forces used white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza on October 11, 2023. Palestinian medical sources said that the attack resulted in hundreds of cases of suffocation. Israel has intensified its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks by Hamas militants. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has accused Israel of using banned weapons on Gaza.
On October 12, Human Rights Watch had said it verified videos taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11 that show multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border. Human Rights Watch said that Israel's use of white phosphorus in military operations puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries. White phosphorus is an incendiary weapon that burns in air and causes severe burns upon contact with skin or eyes. White phosphorus smoke can also cause eye and respiratory tract irritation. The use of phosphorus in war is regulated under international law, but it is not banned. Phosphorus is not classed as a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
HRW also spoke to sources in Gaza who described the attacks. The sources said they saw explosions in the sky followed by white lines going downwards, according to a statement on the organization’s website. The sources described the smell as “stifling,” with one person saying that the smell was so strong that he went toward the window to see what was happening and then filmed the strike, the statement said.
Human Rights Watch reviewed the video and verified that it was taken in Gaza City’s port and identified that the munitions used in the strike were airburst 155mm white phosphorus artillery projectiles. Other videos posted to social media and verified by Human Rights Watch show the same location with dense white smoke which is a characteristic of white phosphorus. Human Rights Watch also reviewed videos from October 10 from two locations near the Israel-Lebanon border which show 155mm white phosphorus artillery projectiles being used.
The Head of the Palestinian Government Information Office said 26 October 2023 there is evidence that the Israeli regime uses the prohibited ammunition in bombarding Gaza Strip. Salama Marouf said the Israeli regime uses some types of ammunition that not only vastly demolishes the Gazan infrastructure, but also melts the bodies of the injured.
On 02 November 2023, Amnesty International confirmed that Israel used white phosphorus munitions in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. “We have geolocated and verified videos that show artillery shells being airbursted over Gaza and over Lebanon, deploying white phosphorus… The evidence is quite incontrovertible,” the organization’s Senior Crisis Response Advisor, Donatella Rovera, told Sky News.
White phosphorus is a substance used for military purposes in hand grenades and artillery shells for the purpose of illumination, generating a smoke screen, and as an incendiary substance. White phosphorus (sometimes called yellow) is a waxy solid that ranges between white and yellow in color and has a garlic-like odor, according to the World Health Organization. White phosphorus ignites spontaneously in the air at temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, and continues to burn until it is completely oxidized or until it is deprived of oxygen. Burning phosphorus produces thick, white, irritating smoke containing a mixture of phosphorus oxides.
White phosphorus is harmful regardless of how it is exposed. It can be absorbed in toxic amounts by ingestion or skin exposure. The smoke resulting from burning phosphorus is also harmful to the eyes and respiratory system, as phosphorus oxides decompose in moisture into phosphoric acids. Effects may be delayed for up to 24 hours after exposure. n cases of severe exposure, late effects can include cardiovascular disorders and cardiovascular collapse, as well as kidney and liver damage, decreased level of consciousness, and coma. Death may occur due to shock, liver or kidney failure, or damage to the central nervous system or heart muscle, according to the World Health Organization.
Exposure to white phosphorus may cause severe burns. The burns are extremely painful and result from a combination of thermal and chemical injuries. Affected areas of exposed skin may appear yellow. White phosphorus is highly soluble in fats. Therefore, it may penetrate underlying tissue leading to deep, slow-healing burns, according to the World Health Organization.
White phosphorus particles that have penetrated the skin may begin to burn when the wound is opened and exposed to air. White smoke resulting from burning phosphorus can be seen emanating from the wounds. White phosphorus particles may cause burns and corneal perforation. Exposure to smoke resulting from burning phosphorus may cause eye irritation, blepharospasm, photophobia, tearing, and conjunctivitis.
Smoke from burning phosphorus may cause upper respiratory tract irritation, cough, headache, and delayed onset pulmonary edema.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, initial treatment is primarily supportive. In cases of skin or eye exposure, this includes the immediate removal of burning white phosphorus particles from the victim's eyes or skin. If the skin or eyes are contaminated with white phosphorus, cover them with a cool, wet cloth to avoid re-ignition.
There is no "antidote" for white phosphorus toxicity.
Fires caused by Israeli shelling in south Lebanon have burned some 40,000 olive trees and torched hundreds of square kilometres of land, dealing a serious blow to a major Lebanese crop, the agriculture minister said 02 NOvember 2023. Fires on Lebanon's side of the border have flared daily since Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire last month after war between Israel and Gaza's ruling Palestinian Islamist group Hamas erupted.
"Forty-thousand trees mean 40,000 histories. People are connected to olives spiritually. Our ancestors planted them, and we are losing them today," Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan told Reuters. He accused Israel of starting the fires by using shells containing white phosphorous to destroy wooded areas that Hezbollah fighters – who began firing into Israel in support of Hamas in what has become the worst flare-up of border hostilities since a 2006 war – could use as cover. The Israeli army denied the accusation and said the types of smoke-screen shell it uses do not contain white phosphorus.
“Any time that white phosphorus is used in crowded civilian areas, it poses a high risk of excruciating burns and lifelong suffering,” Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “White phosphorous is unlawfully indiscriminate when airburst in populated urban areas, where it can burn down houses and cause egregious harm to civilians.” Fakih called on Israel to stop using white phosphorus in populated areas, saying: “Parties to the conflict should be doing everything they can to spare civilians from further suffering.”
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
