After accusing Israel of “unlawfully” using white phosphorus over residential areas of a southern Lebanese town last week, Human Rights Watch says Israel “must be pressured by its allied countries” to prevent such incidents from happening again. Speaking to FRANCE 24, HRW Communications Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Ahmed Benchemsi, said countries could “even impose targeted sanctions on officials who are credibly implicated in grave crimes”. White phosphorus, which ignites upon contact with oxygen, can cause extreme harm to humans. “It can burn people not only thermally, but also chemically, down to the bone,” Benchemsi emphasised.
