Photo Credit: United States Air Force, Wikipedia Commons
July 15, 2024
By Girish Linganna
A chemical, called ‘white phosphorus’, is often used to manufacture artillery shells, rockets and bombs. When exposed to oxygen, it ignites and burns at a very high temperature of 815°Celsius. This reaction creates a bright light and thick smoke, useful in military operations. However, this incendiary chemical can result in grievous injuries to any person who comes into direct contact with it. White phosphorus is not considered a chemical weapon because it works mainly through heat and flames rather than toxicity. It can be delivered using felt wedges, or small pads, soaked in phosphorus and has a distinctly ‘garlic-y’ smell.
How Exactly is White Phosphorus Used?
White phosphorus is mainly used to shield the army’s activities on the ground. It creates a smokescreen, both during the day and at night, to conceal the movement of troops. Additionally, it disrupts infrared optics and weapons tracking systems, helping protect military forces from guided weapons, such as anti-tank missiles.
When white phosphorus explodes in the air, it covers a larger area compared to when it explodes on the ground. This makes it useful for hiding large troop movements. However, this also means that its burning effects spread over a wider area, which increases danger to civilians in such crowded places as Gaza. On the ground, in case of a white phosphorus explosion, the danger zone is more concentrated as the smokescreen persists for a longer time. The duration the smoke stays in the air depends on the weather, so it is hard to predict exactly how long it will last.
White phosphorus can also be used as an incendiary weapon. An incendiary weapon is a type of weapon designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire. These weapons use such substances as napalm, white phosphorus, or thermite that can ignite and cause intense burns, spreading fire to targets. Incendiary weapons are also often used to damage enemy supplies, equipment and personnel, as well as to create smoke screens or signal flares.
Fires caused by white phosphorus can destroy homes and buildings, damage crops and kill livestock. Additionally, the limited resources available to medical providers in conflict zones make it even harder to treat severe burns. In 2004, during the second battle of Fallujah in Iraq, the US forces used white phosphorus to create smoke and force hidden fighters out into the open, where they were then attacked, even though their use is regulated under international law due to the severe injuries and suffering they can cause.
The Harmful Effects of White Phosphorus
Burns caused by white phosphorus scorching through to the bone can result in life-threatening injuries. These burns heal slowly and are likely to get infected. If any small piece of white phosphorus is not completely removed, it can make the wound worse after treatment and can reignite when it comes into contact with oxygen. Even 10% burns caused by exposure to white phosphorus can often be life-threatening. It can also cause damage to the lungs and lead to organ failure.
Those who survive initial injuries often endure lifelong suffering. Permanent tightening of the muscles and other tissues, known as contractures, limits their movement. Trauma from the attack, painful treatments and disfiguring scars can also cause psychological harm and social isolation.
White Phosphorus: Legality Under International Law
When used in munitions, white phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon. Although international humanitarian law does not explicitly ban incendiary weapons, it requires states to take all possible precautions to prevent harm to civilians caused by these weapons.
Incendiary weapons come under regulations stipulated by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Palestine and Lebanon are parties to Protocol III, but Israel has not ratified it. Protocol III bans the use of airdropped incendiary weapons in areas with “concentrations of civilians,” but it has two major loopholes.First, it limits some, although not all, uses of ground-launched incendiary weapons in densely populated areas. This includes white phosphorus artillery strikes in Gaza
Second, the protocol defines incendiary weapons as those designed mainly to start fires and burn people. This definition might exclude multipurpose munitions, such as those with white phosphorus, if they are used to create smokescreens, even though they still cause the same burning effects
CCW member-states have advised that this loophole be closed and the rules on using ground-launched incendiary weapons be tightened. Human Rights Watch supported the popular demand for CCW member-states to allocate time during their meetings to specifically discuss the status and effectiveness of Protocol III.
Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Lebanon
Israel used white phosphorus munitions supplied by the US in an October 2023 attack in southern Lebanon. This attack injured at least nine civilians. A rights group claims this incident should be investigated as a war crime, based on a Washington Post analysis of shell fragments found in a small village.
US Utilizes Controversial Weapon Against ISIS
According to open sources, the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS in Syria and Iraq in 2017, has used artillery-delivered white phosphorus, raising serious concerns about the protection of civilians, Human Rights Watch has stated.
Phosphorus Munitions in Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine alleged that Russia had launched an assault on the besieged city of Bakhmut with phosphorus munitions. UThe Ukrainian military released video footage sent from drones, showing a viciously flaming Bakhmut as an element that seemed to be white phosphorus rained down on the city, the BBC reported in May 2023.
Girish Linganna
Girish Linganna is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com
July 15, 2024
By Girish Linganna
A chemical, called ‘white phosphorus’, is often used to manufacture artillery shells, rockets and bombs. When exposed to oxygen, it ignites and burns at a very high temperature of 815°Celsius. This reaction creates a bright light and thick smoke, useful in military operations. However, this incendiary chemical can result in grievous injuries to any person who comes into direct contact with it. White phosphorus is not considered a chemical weapon because it works mainly through heat and flames rather than toxicity. It can be delivered using felt wedges, or small pads, soaked in phosphorus and has a distinctly ‘garlic-y’ smell.
How Exactly is White Phosphorus Used?
White phosphorus is mainly used to shield the army’s activities on the ground. It creates a smokescreen, both during the day and at night, to conceal the movement of troops. Additionally, it disrupts infrared optics and weapons tracking systems, helping protect military forces from guided weapons, such as anti-tank missiles.
When white phosphorus explodes in the air, it covers a larger area compared to when it explodes on the ground. This makes it useful for hiding large troop movements. However, this also means that its burning effects spread over a wider area, which increases danger to civilians in such crowded places as Gaza. On the ground, in case of a white phosphorus explosion, the danger zone is more concentrated as the smokescreen persists for a longer time. The duration the smoke stays in the air depends on the weather, so it is hard to predict exactly how long it will last.
White phosphorus can also be used as an incendiary weapon. An incendiary weapon is a type of weapon designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire. These weapons use such substances as napalm, white phosphorus, or thermite that can ignite and cause intense burns, spreading fire to targets. Incendiary weapons are also often used to damage enemy supplies, equipment and personnel, as well as to create smoke screens or signal flares.
Fires caused by white phosphorus can destroy homes and buildings, damage crops and kill livestock. Additionally, the limited resources available to medical providers in conflict zones make it even harder to treat severe burns. In 2004, during the second battle of Fallujah in Iraq, the US forces used white phosphorus to create smoke and force hidden fighters out into the open, where they were then attacked, even though their use is regulated under international law due to the severe injuries and suffering they can cause.
The Harmful Effects of White Phosphorus
Burns caused by white phosphorus scorching through to the bone can result in life-threatening injuries. These burns heal slowly and are likely to get infected. If any small piece of white phosphorus is not completely removed, it can make the wound worse after treatment and can reignite when it comes into contact with oxygen. Even 10% burns caused by exposure to white phosphorus can often be life-threatening. It can also cause damage to the lungs and lead to organ failure.
Those who survive initial injuries often endure lifelong suffering. Permanent tightening of the muscles and other tissues, known as contractures, limits their movement. Trauma from the attack, painful treatments and disfiguring scars can also cause psychological harm and social isolation.
White Phosphorus: Legality Under International Law
When used in munitions, white phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon. Although international humanitarian law does not explicitly ban incendiary weapons, it requires states to take all possible precautions to prevent harm to civilians caused by these weapons.
Incendiary weapons come under regulations stipulated by Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Palestine and Lebanon are parties to Protocol III, but Israel has not ratified it. Protocol III bans the use of airdropped incendiary weapons in areas with “concentrations of civilians,” but it has two major loopholes.First, it limits some, although not all, uses of ground-launched incendiary weapons in densely populated areas. This includes white phosphorus artillery strikes in Gaza
Second, the protocol defines incendiary weapons as those designed mainly to start fires and burn people. This definition might exclude multipurpose munitions, such as those with white phosphorus, if they are used to create smokescreens, even though they still cause the same burning effects
CCW member-states have advised that this loophole be closed and the rules on using ground-launched incendiary weapons be tightened. Human Rights Watch supported the popular demand for CCW member-states to allocate time during their meetings to specifically discuss the status and effectiveness of Protocol III.
Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Lebanon
Israel used white phosphorus munitions supplied by the US in an October 2023 attack in southern Lebanon. This attack injured at least nine civilians. A rights group claims this incident should be investigated as a war crime, based on a Washington Post analysis of shell fragments found in a small village.
US Utilizes Controversial Weapon Against ISIS
According to open sources, the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS in Syria and Iraq in 2017, has used artillery-delivered white phosphorus, raising serious concerns about the protection of civilians, Human Rights Watch has stated.
Phosphorus Munitions in Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine alleged that Russia had launched an assault on the besieged city of Bakhmut with phosphorus munitions. UThe Ukrainian military released video footage sent from drones, showing a viciously flaming Bakhmut as an element that seemed to be white phosphorus rained down on the city, the BBC reported in May 2023.
Girish Linganna
Girish Linganna is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com
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