Washington Post: Israel bombed civilians in Lebanon with American white phosphorous

The Washington Post revealed that Israel used American white phosphorus shells in a bombing of southern Lebanon last October, wounding at least 9 civilians, according to what an examination of the remains of those shells showed.

The newspaper explained – in a report published today, Monday – that a journalist working for it found the remains of three 155 mm shells fired at the Lebanese village of Dhahira, near the border with Israel, in an attack that residents said led to the burning of at least four homes.

According to the journalist’s examination, the production data recorded on the shells match the US Army’s classifications of its locally manufactured ammunition, which show that these shells were produced in the states of Louisiana and Arkansas in 1989 and 1992.

Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza after the Palestinian resistance launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, there have been several reports from doctors, human rights activists, and journalists indicating that the Israeli army used white phosphorus shells in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

Comment from the White House and the Pentagon

For its part, the White House said – following the publication of the Washington Post report – that the United States is concerned about reports of Israel’s use of white phosphorus.

At the same time, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that they had seen reports regarding Israel’s use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon.

But the spokesman added that the Pentagon cannot verify whether these missiles are American, noting that Washington has not supplied Israel with white phosphorus missiles since last October 7.

On the other hand, Amnesty International said that the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Dhahira with these shells requires investigation as a war crime.

It is noteworthy that white phosphorus is a weapon that burns the body, and inhaling it for a short period of time irritates the trachea and lungs, while using it for a long time causes wounds in the mouth and may break the jaw bones.

In addition to being an incendiary weapon, white phosphorus emits a thick cloud of smoke when it burns, which armies use to cover the movements of soldiers.

The 1980 Geneva Convention prohibits the use of white phosphorus against the civilian population or even against soldiers in densely populated areas, and considers this a war crime.