DHAYRA — In October, Israel used US-supplied white
phosphorus in an attack on southern Lebanon that injured at least nine
civilians, the Washington Post reported.
اضافة اعلان
A journalist working for the newspaper found remnants of
three 155-millimeter artillery rounds fired into Dhayra, near the
Israeli-Lebanese border. White phosphorus fell onto several homes and ignited
fires, incinerating at least four homes. It ruined furniture, stripping
appliances to scorched metal. Remnants of the sticky, black chemical littered
the ground 40 days after the attack and combusted when residents kicked at it.
White phosphorus is a corrosive weapons material that ignites when in contact with
oxygen and burns at temperatures up to 1,500 degrees, which can cause severe
injuries. The chemical can stick to skin; causing fatal burns, organ
failure and respiratory damage. Its use in civilian areas could be prohibited
under international humanitarian law, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Of the nine injured in Israel’s attack on Dhayra, at
least three were hospitalized.
Lot production codes found on the shells match the
terminology used by the US military to categorize domestically produced
weapons. The shells indicate they were manufactured by ammunition depots in
Louisiana and Arkansas in 1989 and 1992. The US origin of the shells was then
verified by the HRW and Amnesty International as the same manufacturing codes
also appear on shells lined up next to Israeli artillery in a photo released on
Oct. 9.
The weapons are a fraction of the billions of dollars in
U.S. military arms flow to Israel every year, which is also backing Israel’s
war on Gaza. At least 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli
bombardment began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Following the breaking of this news, National Security
Council spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration is “concerned” about
the use of white phosphorus and that they would be “asking questions to try to
learn a bit more.”
Tensions have risen between Israeli Occupation Forces
(IOF) and Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border in the weeks since Oct. 7.
Dhayra, a town of 2,000 people, has become the stage for
the aggression. Now, at least 94 people have been killed on Lebanon’s side of
the border according to data released by the Lebanese Health Ministry. 82 of
which were Hezbollah fighters. While at least 11 Israelis have been
killed, most of them soldiers.
Dhayra residents speculated that the phosphorus was meant
to displace them from their village and to clear the way for future IOF
activity in the area.
The IOF wrote that white phosphorus shells launched by
Israel are used to create smokescreens, obstructing enemy vision, not for
targeting civilians or causing fires. It said its use of the weapon “complies
and goes beyond the requirements of international law.”
However, the Washington Post reported that the IOF
possess safer alternatives, such as M150 artillery rounds, which
smokescreens without the use of white phosphorous.
The US is responsible to track the behavior of its allies
who receive its military assistance, assuring they comply with US and
humanitarian law, experts said. According to humanitarian law, the use of white
phosphorus is permitted if used for legitimate military operations, but its
abuse is deemed a war crime.
“The fact that US-produced white phosphorus is being used
by Israel in southern Lebanon should be of great concern to US officials,”
wrote Tirana Hassan, the executive director of the HRW. “[Congress] should take
reports of Israel’s use of white phosphorus seriously enough to reassess US
military aid to Israel.”
The US is not conducting real-time assessments of
Israel’s adherence to the laws of war. “Anytime that we provide items like
white phosphorus to another military, it is with a full expectation that it’ll
be used in keeping with...legitimate purposes and in keeping with the law of
armed conflict,” Kirby said.
It is unclear when the US delivered the weapon to Israel.
According to Pentagon spokesman, Pat Ryder, the U.S. has not provided white
phosphorus munitions to Israel since Oct. 7.
“When it comes to our relationship with Israel, we’ll
continue to communicate to them the importance of mitigating civilian harm,”
Ryder said.
In 2013, the Israeli military pledged to stop using white
phosphorus on the battlefield, saying it would transition to gas-based smoke
shells.
However, Israel’s empty promises pile as they used the
phosphorus more than 60 times in southern Lebanon in the past two months,
according to data collected by war monitor group, ACLED.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Dec. 2 that
Israel’s use of white phosphorus has “killed civilians and produced
irreversible damage to more than 5 million square meters of forests and
farmland, in addition to damaging thousands of olive trees.”
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