Israel used white phosphorus ammunition supplied by the US in an attack in southern Lebanon last October. This is what theWashington Post analysis of fragments of three 155-millimeter shells found in the village of Dhayra, the scene of the mid-October bombing in which at least 9 civilians were injured and four houses were incinerated. The American newspaper's investigation thus confirms the accusations that had already been launched by Amnesty International and Human Right Watch at the end of October.
White phosphorus ammunition falls into the category of incendiary weapons and, according to international conventions, should only be used to illuminate military objectives, create smoke screens capable of covering the movement of troops. According to conventions, they should not be used to strike targets where civilians are presentsince white phosphorus in contact with oxygen catches fire and can reach very high temperatures and cause very serious burns.
The analyzed fragments show codes that prove that the ammunition was produced in Louisiana and Arkansas in 1989 and 1992, and are part of the billions of dollars of war material that arrives in Israel every year from the United States. “The fact that US white phosphorus munitions have been used by Israel in southern Lebanon should be of great concern to the US – declared Tirana Hassan, head of Human Right Watch – Congress should take seriously the reports of the use of white phosphorus by Israel to reevaluate US military aid to Israel”.
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