Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, saying the use of such weapons puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury.
Israel’s military in 2013 said it was phasing out white phosphorus smokescreen munitions used during its 2008-2009 offensive in Gaza, which drew war crimes allegations from various rights groups.
The military at the time did not say whether it would also review use of weaponised white phosphorus, which is designed to incinerate enemy positions.
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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.
It doesn’t say they’re using it as a weapon but it seems to imply they’ve stopped using it for at least one of the non-weapon purposes and make no assurance it won’t be used as a weapon.
It doesn’t say they’re using it as a weapon but it seems to imply they’ve stopped using it for at least one of the non-weapon purposes and make no assurance it won’t be used as a weapon.