Did the Israeli army use white phosphorus in Gaza?

After Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel, the counter-offensive. Since the start of its response, the Israeli army announced on X (formerly Twitter) having dropped around 6,000 bombs “on Hamas targets” located in the Gaza Strip. On social networks, several Internet users accuse Israeli forces of having used white phosphorus, an incendiary chemical, during bombings on the Gaza port on Wednesday October 11.

White phosphorus is contained in submunitions, themselves placed in a container called a cargo munition. When this container explodes, the phosphorus ignites on contact with oxygen. Have these cluster munitions, the use of which is prohibited by an international convention against civilians, really been used in recent days in Gaza? Franceinfo analyzed around ten images and interviewed several explosives experts, and came to the conclusion that these allegations were verified.

A chemical that is devastating to the body

Once in the open air, white phosphorus “Continues to burn at 816°C until nothing remains or the oxygen source is cut off”, recalls the NGO Human Rights Watch. Its effects on humans are deleterious: phosphorus can burn, thermally and chemically, a person to the bone, adds the organization.

Highly soluble in human flesh, it can exacerbate wounds, even after treatment, enter the bloodstream and damage organs. “The weapon has the potential to cause particularly gruesome and painful injuries, or a slow and painful death,” details the Red Cross.

In this video, published Wednesday October 11, two explosions occur above a white building, near the Gaza port. “This is a probable shot of submunitions, coming from a cargo munition: rocket, shell or mortar projectile. We can clearly hear the detonations of the dispersal charge”analyzes Gilles Denglos, former mine clearance diver of the French Navy and expert in war explosives, approved by the French justice system. “The plumes of smoke are strongly reminiscent of incendiary submunitions generally containing phosphorous.”

On another video from the Reuters agency, filmed the same day, a munition explodes just above the boats in the port, while a large impact is visible a little further away, in the water. “It is certainly the envelope of the cargo ammunition”judge Gilles Denglos.

A use diverted from its initial military objective

Mohammed Abed, an AFP photographer based in Gaza, captured up close the October 11 bombings on the port of the Palestinian capital. Her photos “show quite clearly that the ammunition used is incendiary, because the ends of the white smoke are incandescentobserves Gilles Denglos. Such dense white smoke is most certainly linked to the combustion of phosphorus.”

An observation also shared by another expert approved by the courts, contacted by franceinfo. “It is actually white phosphorus, which burns on contact with oxygen in the air”, notes the soldier*, specialized in pyrotechnic depollution. In AFP photos, the cluster munition appears to have been diverted from its initial use, namely to create a curtain of smoke close to the ground, or to illuminate the battlefield. “There was the same type of diversion in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict”illustrates the expert.

“There is no tactical and military reason to justify the use of this ammunition in an urban environment. One could suggest that this weapon is just used for the purposes of destruction and terror”, estimates Chris Cobb-Smith, ballistics expert and director of Chiron Resources, a British security consulting company for the media. After reading the content verified by franceinfo, this specialist confirms having recognized white phosphorus.

“The smell was stifling”

The NGO Human Rights Watch also denounced in a publication the use of white phosphorus at the Gaza port on Wednesday, as well as in two villages located on the border between Lebanon and Israel. According to two Gazan witnesses, interviewed by the NGO, the attack occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. These “said the smell was overpowering”details the NGO. “The person at her desk said the smell was so strong that she went to her window to see what was happening, then filmed the strike”.

In a video shared on X and verified by franceinfo, guests of the Roots Hotel, located opposite the port, were bothered by the smoke. “This could actually be linked to the combustion of phosphorus, the fumes of which are particularly irritating”observes Gilles Denglos.

Use prohibited on civilians

White phosphorus bombs are not completely banned by international treaties. Considered as incendiary weapons, these weapons are regulated by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of December 1983. If their use is authorized for military objectives, this is “prohibited in all circumstances” against civilian populations, and even against military targets close to civilians. In 2009, Israel admitted to having used it during an offensive targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but not inside residential areas.

The international protocol also authorizes the use of white phosphorus for its smoke-producing or illuminating properties. Exceptions which constitute “major gaps” in the eyes of Human Rights Watch.

The use of these bombs in broad daylight on the port of Gaza, a residential area, therefore raises questions. “White phosphorus shells are fired with an explosive fuze, which ensures the white phosphorus fragments are distributed over a wide area. This implies that they are used as an area weapon, and are not aimed against a specific target. There is therefore a probability of collateral damage”, notes Chris Cobb-Smith. It is therefore very likely that the Israeli army endangered civilian populations by using white phosphorus in Gaza on Wednesday.

According to Human Rights Watch, the IDF committed in 2013 to no longer use it in populated areas, except in two exceptional cases which were not exposed to the general public. This promise was in response to a petition filed before Israel’s High Court of Justice. The IDF then declared that it was developing new smoke shells, without white phosphorus, reserving the right to use them until sufficient alternatives were available. Contacted by franceinfo about the recent bombings in Gaza, the press service of the Israeli army did not respond.

* The expert contacted by franceinfo, bound by a duty of confidentiality, wished to remain anonymous.