#Gaza #Lebanon 

The use of white phosphorus in Gaza. 

White phosphorous is a chemical component that ignites on contact with air and burns at around 1,500 degree Fahrenheit (815 Celsius). It can lead to serious injury and or even death if it comes into contact with humans.

Human Rights Watch regards incendiary weapons, such as white phosphorous and napalm, as “among the cruellest weapons used in contemporary armed conflict” due their impact on the human body. Says one Human Rights Watch researcher:

Incendiary weapons are weapons that set fire or burn people to the bone.

White phosphorus can be used defensively, though, as a smokescreen to mask troop movements on the ground, to illuminate the battlefield, or as a signalling device. It can also interfere with an enemy’s infrared optics and weapons tracking systems.

But these incendiary weapons can also be used offensively in mortar bombs, rockets and artillery ammunition. 

Israel has been using white phosphorus on Palestinians and in Lebanon.
#Gaza #Lebanon