Human Rights Watch says that Israel has been illegally using white phosphorus in Lebanon

JERUSALEM, March 10 (Reuters) - The Israeli military illegally used white phosphorus munitions over homes in the southern Lebanese town Yohmor on ​March 3, posing a threat to civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a ‌report on Monday.

“The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.

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The rights group said it ​had verified eight images showing white phosphorus used over a residential part of Yohmor, ​and civil defense workers responding to fires in the area.

Reuters could not ⁠independently verify the group’s findings.

The Israeli military told Reuters it was unaware and could not ​confirm the use of shells that contain white phosphorus in Lebanon. It added that it ​had not reviewed the same videos as HRW and could not comment on the claims.

Lebanese authorities have not commented.

The Israeli military told residents of Yohmor and 50 other villages and towns to evacuate in a ​statement early on March 3.

Reuters previously reported on Lebanese farmers testing their soil to determine whether ​they could resume planting in the aftermath of Israel’s reported use of white phosphorus in 2023.

As of July 2024, the Lebanese ‌National ⁠Council for Scientific Research said there had been 175 Israeli attacks on south Lebanon using white phosphorus from October 2023, many of them sparking fires that have affected over 600 hectares (1,480 acres) of farmland.

White phosphorus munitions can legally be used on battlefields to make smoke screens, ​generate illumination, mark targets ​or burn bunkers and ⁠buildings.

HRW said under international humanitarian law the use of airburst white phosphorus over populated areas is unlawful.

White phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon ​under Protocol III of the Convention on the Prohibition of Use ​of Certain ⁠Conventional Weapons. The protocol prohibits using incendiary weapons against military targets located among civilians, although Israel has not signed it and is not bound by it.

Nearly 400 people have been killed and hundreds ⁠of thousands ​have been forced to leave their homes as Israeli ​strikes have pounded Lebanon for over a week.

HRW previously accused Israel of using white phosphorus during Israel’s 2023 operations against ​Lebanon, a charge Israel’s military denied at the time.

(This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of ‘phosphorus’ in the headline, and to add the missing word ‘of’ in paragraph 8)

Reporting by Pesha Magid; editing by Philippa Fletcher

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