Two major non-governmental organisations (NGOs) accuse the Israeli army of having used munitions containing white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Defense Forces deny the accusations. Here is what to know about this incendiary weapon and the rules governing its use.
Israel allegedly used white phosphorus munitions on October 10 and 11 during aerial assaults on Gaza in response to the deadly Hamas attack, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International.
“Israel has used white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, putting civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries,” wrote HWR on the social media platform X. “White phosphorus causes excruciating burns and can set homes afire. Its use in populated areas is unlawful,” added the statement.
The NGOs shared videos to support their allegations showing dense white columns of smoke following the bombings. Several experts interviewed by France Info and the Washington Post confirm this hypothesis.
Israeli authorities have officially denied using white phosphorus. “The State of Israel has not deployed the use of such munitions,” wrote the Israeli embassy in France in a statement. “In accordance with international law, this type of weapon is not used by the Israel Defense Forces against the terrorist group Hamas. We condemn with the greatest firmness the press and elected officials which report the use of white phosphorus by the IDF without any other proof than videos taken from another war."
White phosphorus, the incendiary weapon at the centre of this controversy, has multiple uses. It is a flammable chemical substance with a garlic-like odour that can be put into artillery shells and bombs. Its principal characteristic is that it ignites when exposed to oxygen, generating intense, long-lasting temperatures of over 800° Celsius.
On battlefields, white phosphorus produces a dense smoke useful for military purposes. “It is frequently used to mask troop movements,” said General Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French military mission to the United Nations. "The problem is that dispersed phosphorus burns, and in urban areas like Gaza, it is difficult to know when you're shooting at civilians.”
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“It is a weapon used by military units on the battlefield, as recently during the war in Ukraine,” said Jean-Paul Paloméros, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and former French Air Force Chief of Staff, in a televised interview with FRANCE 24. "I find it difficult to see the interest for Israel on a military level to resort to using white phosphorus,” he said, without commenting on the veracity of the NGOs' accusations. “If the army were to use it, it would be as part of its land offensive on the battlefield. We have to remember that it has very serious effects on civilians,” he added.
Devastating burns
White phosphorus can have devastating effects on populations. The fires it causes are difficult to control, and it can quickly burn skin down to the bone. The toxic agent is highly soluble in human flesh, meaning it is quickly absorbed upon contact, and so badly damages organs that scientists say burns affecting just 10% of the body’s surface area can be fatal. Its smoke is corrosive enough to cause burns to the eyes and skin.
The deployment of white phosphorus munitions is legal, but only when used on military targets. “If you do not use it to target civilians, but they are hit as collateral damage, it is not a war crime,” said Trinquand.
Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) restricts the use of white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon but does not prohibit it. Human Rights Watch has criticised "loopholes" in the text and called for stricter restrictions. At any rate, Israel is not one of the signatories of the protocol, and therefore not subjected to it.
The Hebrew State denied using this substance in the past before making a U-turn and admitting to its use in an 2009 Israeli government report on “Operation Cast Lead”, an offensive in Gaza. The IDF said it had used the chemical agent to form protective smoke screens for its advancing soldiers. The Israeli military subsequently said in 2013 that it planned to remove shells containing phosphorus from active use.
This page is a translation of the original in French.
