New York, Sept. 10 (SANA) Israeli occupation forces used white phosphorus munitions in 23 incidents in southern Lebanon between March and May 2026, Human Rights Watch said in a new report calling for stronger international law to regulate the weapons.
The 45-page report, “Uncontrolled Burn: The Inhumane Effects of White Phosphorus Munitions and the Need for Stronger Law,” was released by Human Rights Watch and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School.
The findings were based on legal analysis, open-source investigations, 16 in-person and remote interviews, monitoring of diplomatic proceedings and desk research.
HRW said white phosphorus ignites when exposed to oxygen and can cause severe, penetrating burns, respiratory damage and organ failure. Survivors can face lasting physical, psychological and socioeconomic consequences.
The organization said the use of airburst white phosphorus munitions over populated areas is indiscriminate because they cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants. It said such use in southern Lebanon violates international humanitarian law.
“White phosphorus munitions can inflict excruciating burns and cause lifelong physical, psychological, and socioeconomic harm,” said Bonnie Docherty, senior arms adviser at Human Rights Watch and a lecturer at Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic.
The report highlighted what HRW described as a gap in international law. Protocol III to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons regulates weapons primarily designed to set fires or burn people, but does not generally cover white phosphorus munitions, which are designed for purposes such as creating smoke screens or illumination.
HRW said white phosphorus can burn people to the bone, while particles remaining in wounds can reignite when exposed to oxygen. It argued that the severity and difficulty of treating such injuries are incompatible with the principles of humanity under international humanitarian law.
The organization urged countries to raise the issue during U.N. General Assembly disarmament meetings in New York in October and at the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Review Conference in Geneva from Nov. 16 to 20.
HRW called for stronger international rules that close existing legal gaps and restrict white phosphorus munitions, saying a complete ban on their production, transfer and use would provide the greatest humanitarian protection.
FJ/RK
