HRW accuses Israel of 'unlawfully' using white phosphorus in Lebanon attacks

BEIRUT, Mar 09 (AFP): Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Israel of "unlawfully" using white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town last week.

"The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor," the New York-based rights group said in a report.

HRW added that it "verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires in at least two homes and one car in that area".

White phosphorus, a substance that ignites on contact with oxygen, can be used to create smokescreens and to illuminate battlefields. But the munition can also be used as an incendiary weapon and can cause fires, horrific burns, respiratory damage, organ failure and death.

Israel-which kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire-launched multiple waves of strikes across Lebanon since last week and sent ground troops into border areas after the Iran-backed group attacked it.

The Israeli army has since repeatedly called on people living south of the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, to leave.