ISTANBUL

Israel’s use of white phosphorus in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon “puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday.

HRW said in a statement that it “verified videos taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively, showing multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border and interviewed two people who described an attack in Gaza.”

“White phosphorus, which can be used either for marking, signaling and obscuring, or as a weapon to set fires that burn people and objects, has a significant incendiary effect that can severely burn people and set structures, fields and other civilian objects in the vicinity on fire,” it noted.

“The use of white phosphorus in Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, magnifies the risk to civilians and violates the international humanitarian law prohibition on putting civilians at unnecessary risk.”

Citing Lama Fakih, the Middle East and North Africa Director at HRW, the statement said: “Any time that white phosphorus is used in crowded civilian areas, it poses a high risk of excruciating burns and lifelong suffering.”

The ongoing conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel on Saturday, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said it was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.​​​​​​​