SU-30SM, SU-35S, and SU-34 flying in formation - Sputnik International, 1920
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US Looking Into Reports of Israeli Use of US-Made White Phosphorus Shells in Lebanon

© Sputnik / Alexey Kudenko / Go to the mediabankDestruction of a phosphorous bomb
Destruction of a phosphorous bomb - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.12.2023
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States is looking into reports confirmed by The Washington Post and two human rights groups that Israel attacked southern Lebanon with US-made white phosphorus shells, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday.
"We don't have full transparency and visibility on what exactly happened up in Lebanon with these reported uses of white phosphorus. We're looking into that…We're asking more questions of our Israeli counterparts about those reports to see if they're accurate and how if white phosphorus was used, how it was used," Kirby told CNN.
Shells that appears to be white phosphorus from Israeli artillery explode over Dahaira, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, on Oct. 16, 2023. - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.12.2023
Analysis
Ex-CIA Officer: Ceasefire Veto and White Phosphorus Shells for Israel Show ‘US Isolation’
On Monday, The Washington Post reported that Israeli forces fired white phosphorus munitions manufactured in the US during an attack on the southern Lebanese village of Dheira on October 16, citing its own analysis and the investigations of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
The Post found remnants of three 155-mm artillery shells in Dheira with lot production codes using US military terms for munitions produced domestically in Louisiana in 1989 and Arkansas in 1992. Other features, such as their color and markings, also indicate the shells contained white phosphorus. The same codes also appeared on white phosphorus shells next to Israeli artillery photographed by the Gaza border on October 9. Photos and videos reviewed by the Post and Amnesty International also show smoke ribbons characteristic of white phosphorus falling over Dheira.
The attack incinerated at least four homes and injured at least nine civilians, at least three of whom were hospitalized.
Israeli soldiers fire a 155mm self-propelled howitzer towards targets in the Gaza Strip from their position near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on May 12, 2021. - Israel's Defence Minister Benny Gantz vowed more attacks on Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza to bring total, long-term quiet before considering a ceasefire. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.12.2023
World
Israel Shells Lebanon in Retaliatory Move – Statement
Kirby added that white phosphorous had a "legitimate purpose for illumination and for smoke cover for concealing the movement of your troops." However, Israel has not sent troops into Lebanon during its current war on Gaza. Moreover, the Dheira attack occurred under the cover of night. Residents said that Israel shelled their village with the munitions for hours overnight, leaving them trapped until the next morning. They believe the phosphorus was intended to force them to evacuate their village to make way for future Israeli military incursions.
Kirby said the US has "not provided any white phosphorus shells to Israel since October 7," without commenting on the US production codes found on the remnants of the shells used in Dheira.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, Israel has fired white phosphorus munitions more than 60 times into Lebanon’s border areas since the October 7 Hamas attack.
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