Israel has finally confessed to using phosphorous shells for the first time since its war against Lebanon, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported. White phosphorous is an incendiary agent which is classified as a chemical weapon by many experts. It causes painful second and third degree chemical burns which are most often lethal. This weapon is particularly dangerous because white phosphorus continues to burn unless deprived of oxygen or until it’s completely consumed, in some cases burning right down to the bone. When burnt in the air, white phosphorous forms phosphorus pentoxide which forms into droplets of phosphoric acid absorbing even minute traces of moisture. This is why even the smoke from white phosphorous can be lethal if inhaled.

The announcement that the Israel Defense Forces had used phosphorus bombs in the war in Lebanon was made by Minister Jacob Edery who said, “The IDF made use of phosphorous shells during the war against Hezbollah in attacks against military targets in open ground.” During the war, Lebanese civilians suffered and died from injuries characteristic of attacks with phosphorous. Dr. Hussein Hamud al-Shel, who works at Dar al-Amal hospital in Ba’albek, had said he received three corpses “entirely shriveled with black-green skin,” The use of white phosphorous against Lebanese civilians was further confirmed by Lebanon’s President, Emile Lahoud.

During World War II and Vietnam, both British and American troops had used phosphorous extensively. In recent times, white phosphorous has been labeled a chemical weapon by many experts who believe it should be illegal. The International Red Cross has said that there should be a complete ban on phosphorus being used against human beings, stating that the third protocol of the Geneva Convention clearly restricts the use of white phosphorous. However, Israel and the United States are not signatories to the Third Protocol. Hiding behind this technicality, Minister Jacob Edery said that phosphorus munitions were used “according to the rules of international law.”

Peter Kaiser, spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, claimed that the use of white phosphorous as a weapon is prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). “The way the convention is structured or the way it is in fact applied, any chemicals used against humans or animals that cause harm or death through the toxic properties of the chemical are considered chemical weapons,” Kaiser said.

In November of 2004, the US Army also used phosphorous munitions in Fallujah Iraq, killing an estimated total of 4,000-6,000 people. Israel has also been criticized by the international community for using cluster bombs in Lebanon which were supplied by the US.

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