Tag

#white phosphorus

An incendiary chemical weapon that ignites on contact with air and causes severe burns penetrating to the bone. Its use in or near civilian areas violates Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

2 incidents

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

2026 Lebanon War — US Weapons Complicity in Mass Civilian Casualties and White Phosphorus Attacks

Israel's 2026 Lebanon offensive — including white phosphorus munitions used over civilian areas — has killed over 1,000 people, wounded nearly 3,000, and displaced 700,000. Continued US arms transfers despite documented violations raise state-responsibility concerns under Common Article 1; individual criminal complicity has not been established, because no US-supplied item has been linked to a documented 2026 unlawful strike. HRW and UN experts have called for suspension of military assistance.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

White Phosphorus Over Lebanese Civilian Areas and the US Supply Question

Israel deployed white phosphorus over Lebanese civilian areas in 191 reported attacks across 17+ municipalities since October 2023, continuing through March 2026; US-supplied munitions were identified in the October 2023 Dhayra attack. HRW found the March 2026 Yohmor use unlawfully indiscriminate and called on states, including the US, to suspend arms transfers. US criminal complicity in the 2026 attacks is not shown.