Human Rights Watch: Israel using white phosphorus munitions

The Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. The organisation has also said that the use of such weapons puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury.

Reacting to the allegations, Israel's military said it was "currently not aware of the use of weapons containing white phosphorus in Gaza." The Israeli military also did not provide comment on the organisation's allegations of their use in Lebanon.

Israel has been bombarding Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas rampage in southern Israeli towns that killed at least 1,300 people this week. Israel has also traded barbs with Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

Human Rights Watch has claimed it verified videos taken in Lebanon on October 10 and Gaza on October 11 which showed "multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border".

It also provided links to two videos posted on social media that it said show "155 millimeter white phosphorus artillery projectiles being used, reportedly as smokescreens, marking, or signaling". Both show scenes near the Israel-Lebanon border, it said.

The group however did not provide links to videos showing their alleged use in Gaza. 

Israel's military had said in 2013 that it was phasing out white phosphorus smokescreen munitions used during its 2008-2009 offensive in Gaza. The military at the time did not say whether it would be reviewing the use of weaponised white phosphorus, which is designed to incinerate enemy positions.

White phosphorus munitions can legally be used on battlefields to make smoke screens, generate illumination, mark targets or burn bunkers and buildings. Because of its legality, white phosphorus has not been banned as a chemical weapon under international conventions, but it can cause serious burns and start fires.