Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of using white phosphorus
Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using white phosphorus during its military operations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Source: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Details: Human Rights Watch reviewed videos taken in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip on 10 and 11 October, showing multiple aerial explosions of white phosphorus that was fired from artillery over the port in Gaza City and two rural areas along the Israeli-Lebanese border, and interviewed two people who gave them an account of the attack in Gaza.
Human Rights Watch noted that white phosphorus can cause critical burns to people and set fire to buildings, fields and other civilian facilities. And it also causes lifelong suffering for the people injured.
HRW believes that the use of white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, increases the risk to civilians and violates the prohibition under international humanitarian law of exposing civilians to unnecessary risk.
HRW had a phone conversation with two people from the Al Mina neighbourhood of Gaza who said they had seen explosions with white phosphorus. One person was outside at the time of attack, and the other was in a nearby office building. Both described airstrikes, explosions in the sky, and white lines going earthward.
The Israeli authorities did not comment on the information about the use of white phosphorus during the fighting.
Background:
- Human Rights Watch in Israel and Palestine has criticised the Israeli defence minister's call for a "total siege" of the Gaza Strip, saying it amounts to unlawful "collective punishment" which is a "war crime".
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