A human rights body has accused Israel of using white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary munition, to strike residential areas in southern Lebanon.
In a report released on Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Israeli military “unlawfully" deployed shells containing white phosphorus over residential neighbourhoods in the southern Lebanese village of Yohmor.
The HRW alleged that the Israeli military used these artillery shells on its March 3 strikes targeting Hezbollah in the ongoing West Asia conflict. The report is based on the verification and geolocation of seven distinct images, which the rights body claimed showed airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed directly over homes.
These strikes reportedly took place just hours after the Israeli military had issued evacuation orders for residents of Yohmor and dozens of other villages in southern Lebanon. Visual evidence shows that the shelling caused immediate residential fires, with civil defence workers responding to blazes in at least two homes and one vehicle in the area.
White phosphorus is a chemical substance that ignites spontaneously upon contact with oxygen. The Israeli military has previously maintained that it uses the substance primarily as a smoke screen to mask troop movements and not to target civilians.
Human rights advocates, however, have argued that its use in populated areas is a clear violation of international law. Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher for Human Rights Watch, was quoted in the report as saying the practice was “extremely alarming".
Kaiss warned that firing such “white-hot chemical substances" into residential zones will have “dire consequences for civilians".
“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians," Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, is quoted.
Organisations like HRW and Amnesty International said the munition was used in Israel’s last war with Hezbollah, over a year ago, on numerous occasions in southern Lebanon while civilians were still present.
White phosphorus is capable of burning human flesh down to the bone. Even for survivors who suffer only small burns, there is a persistent and life-threatening risk of infection, respiratory damage, and organ failure.
Beyond immediate physical harm, there are growing concerns about its environmental impact. Lebanese authorities recently raised additional alarms over environmental “crimes", including accusations last month that Israel sprayed the herbicide glyphosate along the shared border.
In light of the evidence from Yohmor and previous reports of phosphorus use in towns such as Khiam and Tal Nahas, activists and rights organisations are calling for immediate international intervention. The HRW urged states currently providing military assistance to Israel to suspend arms sales and military aid.
“Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas," Kaiss is quoted in the report.
Despite a 2024 ceasefire, Israel launched multiple operations and sent ground troops into border areas following attacks by the Iran-backed group, Hezbollah. The Israeli army has repeatedly instructed residents south of the Litani River – approximately 30 km north of the border – to flee their homes. Lebanese authorities said at least 394 people have been killed and more than half a million individuals registered as displaced.
Source: News18