Israelis Deny Using Phosphorus

Israeli military spokesmen deny that their forces have used phosphorus in Gaza, despite photographs and film of munitions showing similar characteristics to the potentially lethal shells.

The Israelis have not said what kind of munitions they have been using, other than saying that their use is permitted under international law.

Phosphorous shells are not illegal if they are used to create a smokescreen or to illuminate targets, rather than as a weapon against people, military experts and human rights campaigners said yesterday.

Mark Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch, said it seemed from news films that Israel had used "artillery-delivered obscurants" which were not illegal.

White phosphorus produces layers of thick white smoke when exposed to oxygen, but phosporous from an explosion will cause serious burns that can melt flesh to the bone and kill. Its use as an offensive munition is banned by the chemical weapons convention. Israel used phosphorus in the war with Lebanon in 2006.

The US used phosphorus in the siege of Falluja in Iraq in 2004, saying it was used to smoke out enemy forces, not to kill them.

British forces have used phosphorus for many years, but not as a weapon, according to defence sources, with the RAF using phosphorus bombs in Afghanistan. British officials were so concerned about the US use of white phosphorus in Falluja that the issue is understood to have been raised by Tony Blair with George Bush in 2004.