Human Rights Watch reported that on March 3 Israeli forces used white phosphorus munitions over the residential area of Yohmor, Lebanon, verifying eight images and documenting firefighters responding to blazes. HRW says airburst deployment of white phosphorus over populated areas is unlawful and poses severe risks of death and lasting injury. Israel said it could not confirm the claim and had not reviewed the same footage; Lebanese authorities did not comment. The allegation follows prior reports of white phosphorus use in 2023 and official estimates that such incidents since October 2023 damaged more than 600 hectares of farmland.
Human Rights Watch Says Israel Fired White Phosphorus Over Yohmor, Posing Risk to Civilians
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
JERUSALEM, March 10 — Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Monday that the Israeli military illegally used white phosphorus munitions over residential areas of the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor on March 3, putting civilians at risk.
"The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering," Ramzi Kaiss, HRW's Lebanon researcher, said in the group's statement.
HRW said it had verified eight images showing white phosphorus deployed over a residential part of Yohmor and documented civil defence teams responding to resulting fires. Reuters was not able to independently verify HRW's findings.
The Israeli military told Reuters it was unaware of and could not confirm the use of shells containing white phosphorus in Lebanon, adding that it had not reviewed the same videos cited by HRW and therefore could not comment. Lebanese authorities had not issued a comment on the report.
Earlier on March 3, the Israeli military ordered residents of Yohmor and about 50 other villages and towns to evacuate, according to its statement.
Members of the Lebanese Civil Defence inspect a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer
Context And Previous Allegations
HRW previously accused Israel of using white phosphorus during operations against Lebanon in 2023, an allegation the Israeli military denied at that time. Reuters has also reported on Lebanese farmers testing soil after reported white phosphorus use in 2023 to determine whether planting could safely resume.
As of July 2024, the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research reported 175 incidents in south Lebanon involving white phosphorus since October 2023, many of which sparked fires that affected more than 600 hectares (1,480 acres) of farmland.
Legal And Humanitarian Issues
White phosphorus munitions have legitimate battlefield uses — for creating smoke screens, providing illumination, marking targets or burning through fortifications. However, HRW said that under international humanitarian law, detonating white phosphorus in airbursts above populated areas is unlawful because of the high risk to civilians.
White phosphorus is categorized as an incendiary weapon under Protocol III of the Convention on the Prohibition of Certain Conventional Weapons, which prohibits using incendiary weapons against military targets located among civilians. Israel has not signed Protocol III and therefore is not bound by it.
The broader hostilities have had a severe human cost: nearly 400 people reported killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by strikes in Lebanon over the course of the recent escalation.
Reporting: Pesha Magid. Editing: Philippa Fletcher.
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