The Israeli army used white phosphorus ammunition artillery fire on residential areas of the city of Yohmor, in southern Lebanon.
The Human Rights Watch organization confirmed through the geolocation of images the deployment of this chemical substance on housing on March 3, which has generated an international alert due to the extreme risk it represents for the civilian population.
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The agency’s investigators verified photographs that show explosions in the air consistent with 155-millimeter projectiles. These munitions spread felt wedges impregnated with the chemical that ignites upon contact with oxygen, causing structure fires and severe burns.
According to the analysis, the attack affected at least two houses and a vehicle in an area where families live, contravening the norms of international humanitarian law.
Impact on the civilian population
The use of these incendiary weapons in populated areas is considered indiscriminate due to the inability to control the area of dispersion of flammable materials. Ramzi Kaiss, a researcher with the organization, warned that the use of this substance will have serious consequences, since the injuries it produces result in lifelong suffering.
The report details that local civil defense personnel had to intervene to extinguish flames on residential balconies and roofs after the impact of particles. The number of deaths in the country due to the escalation of hostilities increased to 394 people as of March 8, according to official updates from the Ministry of Health.
In addition to direct attacks, mass evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military command for more than 50 villages have led to the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of citizens, sowing panic in the regions south of the Litani River.
NEW: The Israeli military unlawfully used white phosphorus over homes on March 3, 2026, in the Lebanese town of Yohmor.
The use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians.
Read more: https://t.co/ulrNyd9Ceh pic.twitter.com/DlUTViKwo7
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) March 9, 2026
Technical alternatives and sanctions
Human Rights Watch urged international authorities to suspend arms sales and military assistance to those involved, noting that there are less harmful alternatives. Israel has smoke projectiles such as the M150, which perform the same function of visual concealment without the devastating effects of white phosphorus.
The organization recommended that the Lebanese government adhere to the Rome Statute to allow the intervention of the International Criminal Court in the investigation of these events.
Meanwhile, the loophole in Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons continues to allow certain multipurpose munitions to fall outside strict regulation, even though their effects in urban areas are similar to those of banned incendiary weapons.
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