Rights group: Israel is using white phosphorous in Gaza

[thewiseguy]

JERUSALEM – Human Rights Watch said Sunday that Israel's military has fired artillery shells with the incendiary agent white phosphorus into Gaza and a doctor there said the chemical was suspected in the case of 10 burn victims who had skin peeling off their faces and bodies.

Researchers in Israel from the rights group witnessed hours of artillery bombardments that sent trails of burning smoke indicating white phosphorus over the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. But they could not confirm injuries on the ground because they have been barred from entering the territory.

The chief doctor at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said he treated several victims there with serious burns that might have been caused by phosphorus. He said, however, that he did not have the resources or expertise to say with certainty what caused the injuries.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090111/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_white_phosphorus

Way to go Israel. :woohoo:

:sarcasm:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Been discussed for a week or so

WP is not illegal if not used intentionally as anti-personnel.

However, given the density in Gaza, clearly civilian casualties were foreseeable.

[thewiseguy]

2. and unavoidable!

In particular the 300 children who were killed.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. 300 children by WP?

[thewiseguy]

4. Does it matter?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. I think it does

While technically legitimate, WP is so horrific that if mass civilian casualties were being caused by it, the LOW would change and it would bring this conflict to a close that much sooner.

WP is nasty stuff, but there is no effective substitute for obscuration effects. If there was, there would be no military accepted use for it. Using nations (and there are lots of them), would like to be done with it since in case of accidental detonation, the potential for friendly fire casualties is so high.

The IDF has been making a major issue out of how they are trying not to hit civilians. Mixed success, but clearly they are not doing things indiscriminately, or the casualties would be much higher. Remember, intent is the key. Its also why there will be no war crimes trials after this conflict. While it is just hunch on my part, I believe that Israel is documenting like mad every target they bomb or fire mission they shoot.

[DogPoundPup]

6. Rights group: Israel uses incendiary bombs in Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Human Rights Watch said Sunday that Israel's military has fired artillery shells with the incendiary agent white phosphorus into Gaza and a doctor there said the chemical was suspected in the case of 10 burn victims who had skin peeling off their faces and bodies.

Researchers in Israel from the rights group witnessed hours of artillery bombardments that sent trails of burning smoke indicating white phosphorus over the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. But they could not confirm injuries on the ground because they have been barred from entering the territory.

The chief doctor at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza said he treated several victims there with serious burns that might have been caused by phosphorus. He said, however, that he did not have the resources or expertise to say with certainty what caused the injuries.

The substance can cause serious burns if it touches the skin and can spark fires on the ground, the rights group said in a written statement calling on Israel not to use it in crowded areas of Gaza.

excerpt~
An AP photographer and a TV crew based in Gaza visited Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Sunday and recorded images of several burn patients.

One of them, Haitham Tahseen, recalled sitting outside his home with his family in the morning when something exploded above them.

"Suddenly, I saw bombs coming with white smoke," said the man, whose burned face was covered with medical cream. "It looked very red and it had white smoke. That's the first time I've seen such a thing."

His cousin, in another hospital bed, was more severely burned, with patches of skin peeling off his face and body, and had to be wrapped with thick white bandages.

The hospital's chief doctor, Youssef Abu Rish, said the burns were not from contact with fire, but he couldn't say what sort of substance caused them. He said information he collected on the Internet indicated it could have been white phosphorus.

Continue Reading: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_WHITE_PHOSPHORUS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-01-11-18-57-23

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. Its the Willie Pete discussion all over again

[Recursion]

10. Where did the "WP is illegal" meme come from?

It's one of those urban myths that never seems to go away.

(Note to anyone who is about to jump on me: I'm not saying anything about the advisability or morality of using white phosphorous in an urban setting with lots of civilians around. Just pointing out that it's not "banned" by the Geneva Convetions -- which for that matter don't ban any weapons -- or any other law.)

[DogPoundPup]

8. Rights group: Israel uses incendiary bombs in Gaza

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[defendandprotect]

9. STOP the war ---