Report suggests Israel used Arkansas-made white phosphorus shells in Gaza

[LiberalArkie]

On Oct. 11, streams of white smoke descended from the sky in Gaza City after an Israeli munition exploded above a hotel near the harbor. A similar squid-like plume erupted above the Gaza City neighborhood of Zeitoun that same day.

Two days earlier, reporters photographed Israeli soldiers near the Israel-Gaza border standing alongside a long-range artillery weapon and artillery shells containing a substance consistent with the smoke plumes seen in Gaza on Oct. 11: white phosphorus, an incendiary material whose use in densely populated civilian areas is prohibited by international law.

The world has been watching the deadly conflict unfold since Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza attacked communities in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250. In retaliation, Israel cut off all humanitarian aid, food, water, fuel and medical supplies for weeks, and began a military offensive that has killed over 15,000 Palestinians and injured more than 30,000 as of Dec. 2. Israel resumed bombing Gaza on Friday after a seven-day ceasefire ended.

While Israel denies using white phosphorus in Gaza, evidence suggests otherwise.

Snip

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/12/02/report-suggests-israel-used-arkansas-made-white-phosphorus-shells-in-gaza

[TwilightZone]

1. Israel hasn't denied using WP in Gaza.

They denied using WP illegally in Gaza.

"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Thursday responded to accusations about Israel’s use of white phosphorus in Lebanon with a carefully worded statement, dismissing reports that the incendiary substance has been used for setting fires but conceding that it does use it in some circumstances."

https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-11-02-23/h_d86d7e2d45ad434b0a4ff433a92a6d6f

Note: I am not questioning the veracity of claims that they've used it illegally. I'm only addressing the false statement in the linked article. The IDF statement precedes the article by a month.

[LiberalArkie]

3. In most countries it is a war crime to use it, but neither the U.S., Russia or Israel abide by that.

[TwilightZone]

4. I'm not sure there's been a more misused term in this conflict than "war crime".

Under international law and the UN's Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, WP is prohibited if it's part of an incendiary weapon and those weapons are used against civilian targets or military targets in civilian population areas. It is not banned otherwise and can be used as a smoke screen, etc.

In short, there's no ban on white phosphorus. Its use is restricted in incendiary weapons.

[LiberalArkie]

6. What is white phosphorus -- and why is it so controversial? Israel accused of using it in Gaza

“On the one hand this means it can be useful for legitimate military purposes — like creating a smokescreen to cover troop movement,” Rebecca Hamilton, a professor of law at American University, told McClatchy News.

“But it creates horrific injuries — burns can go down to the bone, with wounds that may reignite when bandages are removed,” Hamilton, who specializes in international human rights law, said.

Why is it controversial?

White phosphorus is controversial because of its ability to cause severe harm to civilian populations, according to HRW.

When the substance ignites, it produces an intense heat of 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, more than seven times hotter than the temperature of boiling water.



https://news.yahoo.com/white-phosphorus-why-controversial-israel-190453570.html

[Chainfire]

2. International law? What international law?

Lebensraum?

[Abnredleg]

5. The Photo shows smoke that is generated from WP

from the article:

The artillery shells photographed on Oct. 9 and included in the recent Amnesty report bear markings that indicate they were assembled and loaded at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in September 1991. According to a U.S. Army document cataloging types of ammunition, each shell contains 116 felt wedges soaked with white phosphorus. After being fired into the air, a charge within the shell disburses the wedges, which then ignite upon contact with the air and generate thick, white smoke that flows downward as they fall to the ground. When deployed by an artillery weapon, such as a howitzer, they can cover an area as large as a football field

As long as the fuse is set properly and ignites at the proper altitude, all the WP will have burnt off by the time the felt wedges hit the ground. The resulting thick smoke will make you cough but it is not WP, and it will not burn,