Amnesty International says Israeli forces wounded Lebanese civilians with white phosphorus

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The human rights group Amnesty International says civilians in southern Lebanon were injured this month when Israeli forces hit a border village with shells containing white phosphorus. Amnesty reported on Tuesday that it had verified three other instances in which Israel’s military dropped the controversial incendiary munition on Lebanese border areas in the past month but it says it didn’t document any civilians harmed in those cases. Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can burn human flesh down to the bone. Israel maintains it uses the incendiaries only as a smokescreen and not to target civilians.