- White phosphorus is an incendiary weapon that burns at extreme temperatures when exposed to oxygen, causing deep, severe burns that are difficult to treat when it comes into contact with human flesh and harm to the respiratory tract when inhaled.
- While it is legal to use on the battlefield in certain circumstances, including for illumination and as a smokescreen, under the Convention on Conventional Weapons it is illegal to use white phosphorus munitions in or near populated areas. Israel is not a signatory to the convention.
- Despite this prohibition, Israel has repeatedly used white phosphorous shells illegally in populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon, including:
- In 2009, during Israel’s attack on Gaza known as Operation Cast Lead, Human Rights Watch documented the Israel military’s widespread illegal use of white phosphorus shells in urban areas, killing at least 12 civilians, including seven children and three women, and damaging civilian buildings, including attacks on a market, two hospitals, a UN compound, and a UN school. In total, Israel fired more than 200 white phosphorus shells into Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on earth, during the assault.
- In October 2023, Israel began using white phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon again in violation of international law. Israel initially denied it, however Human Rights Watch verified videos of “multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus” fired by the Israeli military over the Gaza City port and along the Israel-Lebanon border, calling it a violation of international law. Amnesty International also documented the presence of white phosphorus shells at an Israeli army base near Gaza.
- According to the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research, between October 2023 and July 2024, the Israeli military used white phosphorus 175 times in attacks on southern Lebanon, starting fires that burned approximately 1,500 acres of farmland.
“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians… The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering.”
“Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas.”
Go deeper
- Quick Facts: Israel’s Illegal Use of Cluster Bombs
- Fact Sheet: Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead” (2008-09)
- Fact Sheet: Two Years of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza