The Israeli army unlawfully fired white phosphorus shells over densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip during its recent military offensive, needlessly killing and injuring civilians, U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in a report.
Citing Israel's use of white phosphorus as evidence of war crimes, the group said the army knew the munitions threatened the civilian population but "deliberately or recklessly" continued to use them until the final days of the Dec. 27 - Jan. 18 operation "in violation of the laws of war."
It called on senior Israeli military commanders to be held to account, and urged the United States, which supplied the shells, to conduct its own investigation.
The Israel Defense Forces have announced an internal probe, the results of which have yet to be made public.
White phosphorus ignites on contact with oxygen and continues burning at up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit (816 degrees Celsius) until none is left or the oxygen supply is cut. It is often used to produce smoke screens, but can also be used as a weapon, producing extreme burns if it makes contact with skin.
When used in open areas, white phosphorus munitions are permissible under international law.
But Human Rights Watch said Israel "unlawfully" fired them over populated neighborhoods, killing and wounding civilians and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse and a hospital.
In Gaza, the Israeli military didn't just use white phosphorus in open areas as a screen for its troops," said senior Human Rights Watch researcher Fred Abrahams. "It fired white phosphorus repeatedly over densely populated areas, even when its troops weren't in the area and safer smoke shells were available. As a result, civilians needlessly suffered and died."
The group gave no precise casualty figures, citing the difficulty of determining in every case which burn injuries were caused by white phosphorous.
Human Rights Watch researchers found spent shells, canister liners, and dozens of burnt felt wedges containing white phosphorus on city streets, apartment roofs, residential courtyards and at a United Nations school.
The report documented several attacks involving white phosphorus, including one on January 4 that killed five members of Ahmad Abu Halima's family in northern Gaza, saying it found remnants of the substance at their home.
"I was talking with my father when the shell landed. It hit directly on my father and cut his head off," the 22-year-old said.
The rights' group said the army knew that white phosphorus threatened civilians, citing an internal medical report about the risk of "serious injury and death when it comes into contact with the skin, is inhaled or is swallowed."
If the Israeli army intended to use white phosphorus as a smokescreen, Human Rights Watch said it could have used non-lethal smoke shells produced by an Israeli company.
Israel launched the offensive with the declared aim of halting cross-border rocket fire by militants in the Hamas-ruled territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.
Over the 22 days of fighting, 1,417 Palestinians were killed, including 926 civilians, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Israel disputes those figures.
Israel has accused Hamas of putting civilians at risk by using them as "human shields" and by drawing Israeli forces into densely-populated areas.
Human Rights Watch said it found no evidence of Hamas using "human shields" in the cases it documented in the report.
In some areas, Palestinian fighters appeared to have been present, the group said, but added: "This does not justify the indiscriminate use of white phosphorus in a populated area."
Israel said during the war that it only used weapons in accordance with international law.
It is unclear how long the internal army investigation will take. Human Rights Watch said it doubted the probe would be thorough or impartial.
The IDF issued a response to the Human Rights Watch report, saying that at the conclusion of operation Cast Lead, the Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, ordered a number of investigations at the General Staff level, each lead by an officer of the rank of colonel.
The investigations aim to evaluate different aspects of the fighting during the operation, in addition to the operational investigations being conducted at the different command levels.
The IDF spokesperson announced during the operation that an investigative committee headed by a colonel would investigate allegations with regard to the use of ammunition containing elements of phosphorous.
This particular investigation is dealing with the use of ammunition containing elements of phosphorous, including, amongst others, the 155mm smoke shells which were referred to in the Human Rights Watch report. This type of ammunition disperses in the atmosphere and creates an effective smoke screen. It is used by many western armies, the IDF statement said.
The investigation is nearing its conclusion, and based on the findings at this stage, it is already possible to conclude that the IDF's use of smoke shells was in accordance with international law. These shells were used for specific operational needs only and in accord with international humanitarian law. The claim that smoke shells were used indiscriminately, or to threaten the civilian population, is baseless.
It should be noted that contrary to the claims in the report, the IDF statement continued, smoke shells are not an incendiary weapon. The third protocol of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) ? which defines particular limitations on incendiary weapons ? makes it clear that weapons intended for screening are not classified as incendiary weapons.
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