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CNN: THE SITUATION ROOM July 26, 2006

Lebanon / White Phosphorus

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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Israel says Hezbollah is inflicting casualties with rockets and missiles filled with ball bearings. And Israel is being accused of using bombs laced with phosphorous. We talked to military experts about the legalities of these weapons of war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): At a hospital in Southern Lebanon, a doctor treating a severely wounded 9-year-old boy tells CNN's Karl Penhaul that he blames an Israeli bomb he believes was packed with phosphorous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the effect of phosphorous. This is phosphorous, of course.

SNOW: Weapons experts say phosphorous burns are distinct in that they are localized and deep.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: It's a result of a little fragment of this white phosphorous burning its way into your muscles, so these are very distinctive burns.

SNOW: There are no national laws banning phosphorous in warfare. Israel says all its weapons and ammunition comply with international law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not deliberately target civilians, we do not use weapons that are outside international norms, we don't target innocent civilians with phosphorous.

SNOW: The United States has used phosphorous in Iraq. Experts say it's mostly used to create a smokescreen to obscure views, and in some cases, as an incendiary agent similar to Napalm.

DAVID RIVKIN, FORMER JUSTICE DEPT. OFFICIAL: Both uses are entirely compliant with international law. There's no treaty to which either the United States or Israel is a party that would ban such uses.

SNOW: When it comes to weapons targeting civilians, Israeli officials say look to Hezbollah's use Katyusha rockets that it's firing on civilians.

DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It's our enemies, the terrorists, who are launching rockets and missiles filled with ball bearings in order to cause as much damage and as much pain to civilians as they possibly can.

SNOW: Experts say picture hundreds of ball bearings or steel marbles traveling at the speed of a bullet.

PIKE: Imagine what you would happen if you discharged a machine gun into a crowd. It's going to have the same effect.

SNOW: Katyusha rockets themselves are legal in warfare, but when used with ball bearings?

RIVKIN: That clearly would render this to be primarily a terror weapon of no particular military utility. That would make this even more legally questionable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Now Israel has repeatedly said that Hezbollah operates out of civilian areas which experts say is in total violation of laws of war -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary, thank you.

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