- Author, BBC Persian and Arabic
- role, In Beirut, Cairo and London
Over the past six months, Israel has continued to fire white phosphorus munitions across the southern border with Lebanon. As a poisonous gas, it is harmful to the eyes and lungs and can cause severe burns. Therefore, it is strictly regulated by international laws.
Israel’s military says its use of the controversial weapon against armed militants in Gaza and Lebanon is legal. However, human rights groups say the war crime must be investigated. The Americans said they would investigate Israel’s use of white phosphorus in both countries.
By using such ammunition so close to civilians, are Israeli forces breaking the law? Or do they have their rights in war?
“It travels like a white mist. But when it hits the ground, it turns to dust. »
On October 19, 2023, Ali Ahmed Abu Samra, a 48-year-old farmer from southern Lebanon, said he was engulfed in a thick cloud of white smoke.
“They say it smells like garlic, but it’s much worse than that. The smell was unbearable. Worse than sewage.
Ali describes an attack of white phosphorus.
Burning at temperatures up to 815°C, white phosphorus ammunition is highly flammable and extremely toxic.
“Water started leaking from our eyes,” says Ali from Dhayra village. “If we hadn’t covered our mouth and nose with a piece of wet cloth, we might not be alive today. »
Since the war in Gaza began in October last year, violence has also intensified along the Israeli-Lebanese border, leading to casualties on both sides and the displacement of thousands of people.
Closely linked to Iran and allied with Hamas, Hezbollah is one of the most heavily armed non-state military forces in the world. In exchange for almost daily strikes, rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah fighters are met with airstrikes and heavy artillery by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Including the use of white phosphorus.
When white phosphorus is released from its shell, it reacts with oxygen to create a thick smoke screen. This provides almost instant protection to ground troops, obscuring the enemy’s line of sight. It is a very effective military tactic and legal under certain conditions. However, under international law, it is the responsibility of all parties to protect civilians during armed conflict.
White phosphorus was used by most of the world’s major armies during the last century. The Soviet Union used it extensively during World War II, according to the CIA. The United States admitted to using it in Iraq in 2004, and again in Syria and Iraq against ISIS in 2017. Israel also said it used the chemical during the 2008-2009 Gaza offensive. But after the UN declared Israel’s military “systematically reckless”, the IDF said in 2013 that it would “soon be removed from active duty”.
We know that Hezbollah fighters travel in small units of two to four people. Using the forest as cover, they often send missiles and rockets across the border, towards the Israeli army stationed on the other side. Swallowing them with smoke could be a way for the Israelis to disrupt their targeting.
In the days when Ali’s village was hit, between October 10 and 19, he says there were no armed groups in the area.
“If Hezbollah had been there, people would have told them to leave because they didn’t want to die,” Ali said. “There was no Hezbollah.”
The BBC was unable to independently verify the presence or absence of armed groups in Dhayra in the days following the attack.
First on the scene in Dhayra was volunteer medical rescuer Khaled Qraitem.
“We started evacuating people who lost consciousness,” says Khaled. But as they tried to reach the people, he said, the rescue team came under fire.
“They fired three shells at us,” says Khaled. “Either to prevent us from helping people or to create an atmosphere of fear. »
Khalid remembers transferring at least nine people to an Italian hospital in Tyre. Including his own father Ibrahim.
At the age of 65, Ibrahim was hospitalized for three days due to severe breathing difficulties. His doctor, dr. Mohammad Mustafa, claims to have treated many patients exposed to white phosphorus.
“Patients come with signs of severe suffocation, profuse sweating, chronic vomiting and irregular heartbeats,” says Dr. Mustafa. “It smells like garlic. Their blood results confirmed exposure to white phosphorus.
When we went to see Ibrahim three months later, his eyes were still red. The skin on his hands and feet was covered in rashes and peeling. He says the doctors told him it was all because of the white phosphorus.
“Since the 1970s, we have experienced war,” explains Ibrahim. “But nothing like that. The explosions are falling so close to our homes.”
Ibrahim says a shell fell six meters from his car as he tried to escape. “Overhead were IDF surveillance drones,” he said.
“They could see us,” explains Ibrahim. “They shot carelessly.”
Amnesty International says the attack on Dhayra “must be investigated as a war crime because it was an indiscriminate attack that injured at least nine civilians and damaged civilian property, and was therefore unlawful.
In response to witnesses who said white phosphorus was used “carelessly” in populated areas as well, the Israeli military told the BBC:
“IDF guidelines require smoke shells containing white phosphorus not to be used in densely populated areas, with certain exceptions. These are operational directives that are confidential and cannot be disclosed. »
Evidence of white phosphorus
Immediately after the attack on Ali’s village, information began to appear on the Internet. Initially, the Israeli military denied using white phosphorus ammunition. But he later reversed course and admitted he had used it, but “in accordance with international law”.
By examining all available evidence, the BBC was able to independently verify the use of white phosphorus in Dhayra, as well as three other villages along the border, over the past six months.
In Kfar Kila, the BBC obtained and chemically tested a shell fragment that fell between two civilian houses. The analysis was performed by a renowned chemistry professor. For security reasons, he asked to remain anonymous.
Wearing a gas mask and full protective gear, the professor examines several dark, sticky clumps on the inner edge of the metal fragment.
“This is part of a 155 mm howitzer shell. The designation M825A1 indicates that it is white phosphorus ammunition. It was made in America, he said.
He holds a lighter to the sticky lumps, which immediately ignite.
“Imagine trying to remove this material from your clothes while it’s burning and sticking to your skin.”
Even after 30 days, he says, the white phosphorus residue can still ignite.
The first speaker, Khaled Qraitem, accused Israel of deliberately using white phosphorus to keep people away from border areas.
“We had a nice country life,” he says. “They started deliberately bombing forest areas with phosphorus to burn olive trees and avocado orchards.”
In response to Khaled’s claims, the IDF responded:
“The Israeli military completely rejects any claim that smokescreen grenades were used to push Lebanese civilians across the border. »
Has Israel broken the law?
White phosphorus is not defined as a chemical weapon, so even the term incendiary weapon is controversial.
Under the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), there are restrictions on weapons that are primarily designed to ignite or burn people. However, most states agree, including Israel, that if white phosphorus is used primarily to create smoke screens and not to start a fire (even if it happens accidentally), then the incendiary weapons law no longer applies.
However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) disagrees. They say there are too many “holes” in the Convention.
“Convention [CCW] it contains gaps, especially regarding the definition of incendiary weapons,” says HRW researcher Ramzi Kaiss. “But according to international humanitarian law, all parties to the conflict must take possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians. Especially when white phosphorus ammunition is used.”
In determining whether Israel has violated international humanitarian law, independent lawyer and military expert Professor Bill Boothby says one of the problems is a “conflict of evidence”.
“The Israelis say their aim was to create a smoke screen,” says Professor Boothby. “The villagers say that there was no reason to create a smoke screen because there were no militants. Was that actually why white phosphorus was used? Knowing the answer to this question would mean knowing what those who decided to attack were thinking.
“Proportionality,” says Professor Boothby, is also essential. That any damage inflicted is not excessive in relation to the expected military gains.
“We’re talking about the need to establish that the anticipated civilian injuries and damage to civilian property were disproportionate to the concrete, direct military advantage they hoped to achieve prior to the attack.”
Which, again, Professor Boothby says, relies on knowing what those who decided to attack had in mind and what their target was.
When asked what their target was in Dhayra, the IDF told the BBC: “These are operational directives that are classified and cannot be disclosed. »
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