Israel To Stop Using White Phosphorous in Battle
White Phosphorous rains down on a Gazan city during Operation Cast Lead. Image by Getty Images
Israel said on Friday it was phasing out white phosphorus smokescreen munitions whose use during its 2008-2009 offensive in the heavily populated Gaza Strip drew war crimes allegations.
Announcing the plan, the Israeli military did not say whether it would also review its use of weaponised white phosphorus, which is designed to incinerate enemy positions.
While legal when fired to mask troop movements on battlefields, white phosphorus smokescreens produce embers and ash that can burn – a risk in urban areas.
The New York-based watchdog group Human Rights Watch said in a 2009 report that Palestinian civilians “needlessly suffered and died” due to Israel’s use of the munitions in Gaza.
“Israel’s repeated firing of white phosphorus shells over densely populated areas of Gaza during its recent military campaign was indiscriminate and is evidence of war crimes,” the group said.
Israel said its military’s conduct in Gaza was lawful, though two senior army officers were eventually reprimanded for a strike near a U.N. compound that involved smokescreen shells.
Such shells “are to be removed from active duty soon” and replaced by Israeli-developed alternatives to white phosphorus “based completely on gas” around a year from now, the military statement said on Friday, without giving details.
During the Gaza fighting, Israel said troops also fired mortar rounds with white phosphorus warheads to clear brush around trenches used by Palestinian gunmen.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
