The U.S. government said Monday it was concerned following reports of Israel using U.S.-made white phosphorus bombs in an October attack in southern Lebanon.
More stories:
The Washington Post reported that remnants of the bombs were found in a village in the area of Bint Jbeil. Human rights organizations said that the attack, in which nine civilians were injured, may be investigated as a war crime.
3 View gallery
IDF strike in Lebanon allegedly using white phosphorus in 2011
(Photo: AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Lebanon has claimed that the IDF carried out strikes using white phosphorus bombs. Following the Washington Post report, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the White House was “concerned,” about the reports and that the U.S. would be “asking questions to try to learn a bit more.”
Kirby also added that “it's important to remind that white phosphorus does have a legitimate military utility, in terms of illumination and cruising smoke to conceal movements. And obviously, anytime that we provide items like white phosphorus to another military, it is with a full expectation that it will be used in keeping with those legitimate purposes and in keeping with the law of armed conflict.”
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also addressed the allegations, saying the White House is worried about such reports. “Obviously there is a legitimate military use for white phosphorus but that does not include using them on civilians," he said in a press conference Monday.
“Anytime that we provide items like white phosphorus or really anything to another military, we do it with the expectation that it will be used for legitimate purposes and in fully keeping with humanitarian law and law of armed conflict," he added.
Shortly after the report, the military said in a statement that, "the IDF only uses legal military equipment. The main smoke grenades used by the IDF don’t contain white phosphorus. Similar to many Western armies, the IDF also possesses smoke grenades containing white phosphorus, which are legal according to international law, and the choice to use them is influenced by operational considerations and availability compared to alternatives. Such ammunition owned by the IDF is intended for obscuring and not for attacking or igniting targets, and are not defined in law as incendiary weapons.
"The IDF’s existing regulations require that smoke grenades containing white phosphorus not be used in urban areas, except in certain unique cases. These limitations align with international law and even impose stricter regulations. Israel has been under continuous attacks from Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in Lebanon over the past two months. The IDF is protecting Israeli citizens from these attacks,” the statement read.
“In 2013, the IDF has committed to no longer use white phosphorus bombs in populated areas, except in two specific cases presented before the Supreme Court alone. Justice Edna Arbel then ruled that these conditions would make the use of white phosphorus "extremely exceptional, and under very specific circumstances."
White phosphorus bombs cause the phosphorus to ignite upon contact with oxygen and continue burning until it is burned away, as long as the material maintains contact with oxygen.
In contact with the skin, the material causes burns. White phosphorus bombs are considered incendiary weapons, which are subject to restrictions under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons’ Protocol III.
Israel is a signatory only to the convention’s first and second protocols, and not to the third protocol, which prohibits the use of white phosphorus bombs and has been signed by 115 countries.