Israel Accused of Using Deadly White Phosphorus Over Homes in Lebanon

On Monday, March 9, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a news release accusing Israel of unlawfully deploying munitions containing white phosphorus, a dangerous chemical substance, over civilian homes in Lebanon. According to images verified and geolocated by HRW, artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions were deployed on March 3 in a residential area of Yohmor, located in southern Lebanon, resulting in fires in at least two homes and one car.

White phosphorus can cause severe and extremely painful burns that are deep and slow to heal. The smoke can also irritate the eyes and respiratory tract, leading to a range of harmful health effects. It can take up to 24 hours for systemic effects to occur and, in severe cases of exposure, these effects can lead to death.

Although white phosphorus is not officially classified as a chemical weapon, munitions containing the substance may be considered incendiary weapons—weapons designed to start fires—and their use may violate international law in some circumstances. 

Under Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), an international treaty that regulates the use of weapons that pose excessive risks to civilians, it is prohibited to “make the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects the object of attack by incendiary weapons.” However, white phosphorus munitions often have other purposes, such as obscuring or marking targets, and may therefore not always be technically classified as incendiary weapons when used in warfare. 

As a result, an investigation into the intent behind the use of white phosphorus—such as whether it was used to intentionally harm civilians—may be required to establish illegality under the CCW. In this case, HRW argues that the Israeli military’s use of airburst white phosphorus munitions is unlawful due to the fact that they were deployed in a populated area, resulting in indiscriminate harm to civilians. Additionally, Israel’s use of white phosphorus does not meet legal obligations requiring parties to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians, HRW argues.

“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher at HRW. “The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering.” 

This is not the first time that evidence has emerged of Israel using white phosphorus in Lebanon. HRW previously documented the Israeli military’s use of the substance across villages in south Lebanon between October 2023 and May 2024. In the case of five municipalities where white phosphorus was deployed, HRW argued that its use was unlawful, as the airburst munitions were used over populated residential areas.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that they “cannot currently comment” on the claims made by HRW. They noted that the IDF uses smoke shells that may visually resemble white phosphorus, but which are used to create smoke screens, not to cause fires, adding that these smoke shells are “not used in densely populated areas, with certain exceptions.”

HRW points out that there are alternatives to white phosphorus in smoke shells, such as the M150 smoke projectile, which is produced by Israeli companies and has been used by Israel in the past to obscure visibility. Given the availability of safer alternatives, Israel should prohibit all use of airburst white phosphorus munitions in populated residential areas, as their use risks indiscriminately harming civilians.