The Indiscriminate Use of White Phosphorus - A War Crime?

Remember this from back in May 2023?

 

My, what a stir that caused in the world's media.  Back then, the use of white phosphorus in civilian areas was considered a "war crime" by the BBC.  Bad, bad Russia.

  

Well, it looks like it's happening again but this time, it's new players getting in on the white phosphorus act.

 

According to Human Rights Watch, this is what's currently happening in the Middle East:

 

Apparently, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has determined that verified video and witness accounts show that Israel has used white phosphorus in military operations on both October 10th and 11th in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip respectively.

  

Here is a collection of videos showing the recent use of white phosphorus against Israel's neighbours:

 

As background, when white phosphorus is deployed in military operations, it is contained in artillery shells, bombs and rockets.  It ignites when it is exposed to oxgen, burning at more than 800 degrees Celsius (1500 degrees Fahrenheit), creating a thick white smoke.  It can ignite anything that it comes into contact with including fuel, ammunition, structures and, most concerningly, human flesh.  Even small fragments have the capability of burning human flesh right the bone.  Tiny fragments can also lodge in the flesh and spontaneously burst into flames at a later time.  It can also be absorbed through inhalation, severely damaging the lungs, liver, kidneys and heart.

 

Here is a video backgrounder on white phosphorus weapons:

 

While not for the faint of heart, here are some photos of rather horrifying white phosphorus burns from an article in the Lancet:

 

...and from the Biomedcentral website:

 

Here is a FAQ sheet from the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry about white phosphorus:

 

White phosphorus has two uses in military operations:

 

1.) as an incendiary weapon.

 

2.) to create a smokescreen to hide military movements.

 

Since military operations use white phosphorus as a smokescreen, its use is not always forbidden by international law because military and political leaders can claim that it was not being used as an incendiary weapon.

 

White phosphorus can be either groundburst or airburst; when it is deployed in an airburst fashion, it covers a larger area, however, its incendiary effects spread over densely populated areas far beyond where the munitions were deployed.

 

According to the United Nations Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, the United Nations aimed at banning or restricting the use of certain types of weapons that could be considered to cause unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering to either combatants or which indiscriminately affect civilian populations.  Protocol III  aka the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the use of Incendiary Weapons of the Convention restricts the use of incendiary weapons which are designed to set fire to objects or cause burn or respiratory injury to people:

 

 

Included in these prohibited weapons are both napalm, heavily used by the United States during the Vietnam War, and white phosphorus.

  

In total, 50 nations have signed the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects and there are 127 parties that have approved, accepted, acceded to, succeeded to or ratified the Convention.  Israel approved the Convention on Marcy 22, 1995 but has not signed it and has added the following declarations:

 

 

Israel as also stated that it does not consent to be bound by Protocol 3, the aforementioned ban on the use of incendiary weapons.  In contrast, both the Russian Federation and the United States have both signed and ratified the Convention as a whole.

 

Israel's historical use of white phosphorus suggests that it is part of Israel's plan to subjugate its Palestinian neighbours as shown in this 2009 analysis, also from Human Rights Watch:

 

Here is a quote from the 2009 HRW report with my bolds:

 

"This report documents Israel's extensive use of white phosphorus munitions during its 22-day military operations in Gaza, from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, named Operation Cast Lead.  Based on in-depth investigations in Gaza, the report concludes that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) repeatedly exploded white phosphorus munitions in the air over populated areas, killing and injuring civilians, and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse and a hospital.

 

White phosphorus munitions did not kill the most civilians in Gaza – many more died from missiles, bombs, heavy artillery, tank shells, and small arms fire – but their use in densely populated neighborhoods, including downtown Gaza City, violated international humanitarian law (the laws of war), which requires taking all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm and prohibits indiscriminate attacks.

 

The unlawful use of white phosphorus was neither incidental nor accidental.  It was repeated over time and in different locations, with the IDF "air-bursting" the munition in populated areas up to the last days of its military operation.  Even if intended as an obscurant rather than as a weapon, the IDF's repeated firing of air-burst white phosphorus shells from 155mm artillery into densely populated areas was indiscriminate and indicates the commission of war crimes."

 

In any case, Israel's use of white phosphorus for any purpose in the extremely densely populated Gaza Strip can only be described as a cruel punishment against those whose only crime is to live in Gaza.  History does appear to show that white phosphorus is one of Israel’s weapons of choice even though its use as an incendiary weapon is prohibited by Protocol III of the U.N. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, a key part of the convention that Israel cleverly chose to not sign.

Apparently, using white phosphorus during a military conflict is only a war crime when it's Russia using it.

White Phosphorus - America's Weapon of Choice?

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Washington has made it its aim to vilify the Assad government by repeatedly informing the world that the pro-regime side in this conflict has used chemical weapons against its own civilian population.  Recent news from Syria would suggest that the United States has behaved in a manner that flaunts international conventions with the use of certain banned weapons.

According to the Syrian Arab News Agency or SANA, we find this recent news:

While you might say or think that this is just pro-Assad propaganda, in fact, it is little different than the American allegations that the Assad government is using chemical weapons.

This news was followed by this update in which Russia has requested an investigation into the use of internationally banned weapons:

According to Protocol III of the Convention on the Prohibition or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or That Have Indiscriminate Effects better known as the Convention on Certain Weapons (CCW), the use of white phosphorus is banned as part of the ban on incendiary weapons against either permanent or temporary civilian population concentrations: 

Incendiary weapons are defined as any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injuries to persons.

There are 125 high contracting parties to the entire Convention on Certain Weapons with an additional four signatories.  The aforementioned Protocol III has 115 high contracting parties with the following nations that are part of the 125 high contracting parties not contracting under Protocol III:

Burundi, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Israel, Monaco, Morocco, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Turkmenistan

According to the Federation of American Scientists Fact Sheet on white phosphorus, we find the following:

Not only do U.S. forces use white phosphorus, according to research by several human rights organizations, Israel (a non-signatory to Protocol III) appears to have used white phosphorus in Operation Cast Lead against densely populated regions of Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009.  Here is a quote on the issue from a report by Human Rights Watch on Israel's use of white phosphorus:

"The unlawful use of white phosphorus was neither incidental nor accidental.  It was repeated over time and in different locations, with the IDF "air-bursting" the munition in populated areas up to the last days of its military operation.  Even if intended as an obscurant rather than as a weapon, the IDF's repeated firing of air-burst white phosphorus shells from 155mm artillery into densely populated areas was indiscriminate and indicates the commission of war crimes.

The dangers posed by white phosphorus to civilians were well-known to Israeli commanders, who have used the munition for many years.  According to a medical report prepared during the hostilities by the ministry of health, "[w]hite phosphorus can cause serious injury and death when it comes into contact with the skin, is inhaled or is swallowed." The report states that burns on less than 10 percent of the body can be fatal because of damage to the liver, kidneys and heart.

When it wanted an obscurant for its forces, the IDF had a readily available and non-lethal alternative to white phosphorus-smoke shells produced by an Israeli company.  The IDF could have used those shells to the same effect and dramatically reduced the harm to civilians.

Using white phosphorus in densely populated areas as a weapon is even more problematic. Human Rights Watch found no evidence that Israeli forces fired ground-burst white phosphorous at hardened military targets, such as Palestinian fighters in bunkers, but it may have air-burst white phosphorous for its incendiary effect.  Fired from artillery and air-burst to maximize the area of impact, white phosphorous munitions will not have the same lethal effect as high-explosive shells, but will be just as indiscriminate."

Here are two annotated photographs from Forensic Architecture showing the use of white phosphorus by IDF forces in late 2008/early 2009:

White phosphorus burns can result in death even with minimal burn areas since the burns are very deep since white phosphorus can burn without the presence of oxygen as shown on this photograph from Lancet:

Here is a video showing the damage that can be done by a white phosphorus munition as used in the Gaza conflict:

Inhalation of smoke created by white phosphorus can also result in death.  White phosphorus itself is highly dangerous with the Centers for Disease having an extensive protocol for dealing with this toxic substance that you can find here.

Let's close with this video which allegedly shows the use of white phosphorus munitions in civilian regions of Raqaa City in Syria in June 2017:

According to a local monitoring group, the June 2017 U.S. strikes resulted in the deaths of at least 14 civilians.

Given that the United States-led coalition admitted to using white phosphorus projectiles in its June 2017 operations against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Mosul as a means to created a smokescreen to help civilians escape from parts of the city under the control of ISIS and to force Islamic State warriors out as seen on this video:

... it would not be terribly surprising to find that the United States has, once again, unleashed a lethal and banned weapon as part of its futile efforts to rid Syria of Bashar al Assad.  The use of fire and brimstone by U.S. forces is almost biblical.