Is Israel using white phosphorus in Lebanon amid Iran war? Alarming allegation surfaces

Amid raging war in West Asia that began on Feb 28 when Israel and the United States attacked Iran, Human Rights Watch have now accused Benjamin Netanyahu-led country of "unlawfully" using white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town last week. In a report published on Mar 9, the New York-based rights group said that it “verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires in at least two homes and one car in southern Lebanese town of Yohmor.” Israel has expanded the war with Iran by targeting Hezbollah after the group's drone attack on Israel on March 2. However, Israeli military said that it cannot confirm about the claims ‘currently.’

"The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor," the New York-based rights group added in its report. "The Israeli military's unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians. Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas," Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW, was quoted as saying in the report.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency also reported on similar lines saying that the Israeli forces targeted the towns of Khiam and Tal Nahas, near the border with Israel, “with artillery and phosphorus shelling” on Sunday (Mar 8). Lebanese authorities and HRW have over the past years accused Israel of using controversial white phosphorus rounds, in attacks authorities say have harmed civilians and the environment. Last month, Lebanon accused Israel of spraying the herbicide glyphosate on the Lebanese side of their shared border, with President Joseph Aoun decrying it as a "crime against the environment". Lebanese authorities said that Israel's attacks since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded at least 1,313.

The Israeli military said it “is currently unaware and cannot confirm use of shells that contain white phosphorus in Lebanon as claimed.” The army said its policy was not to use shells containing white phosphorus "in densely populated areas, with certain exceptions." Israel has also sent ground troops into border areas and launched multiple aerial attacks on Lebanon, after the Iran-backed Hezbollah - which is based in Lebanon - attacked it.

White phosphorus is a substance that ignites on contact with oxygen and can be used to create smokescreens and to illuminate battlefields. According to AFP, the munition can also be used as an incendiary weapon and can cause fires, horrific burns, respiratory damage, organ failure and death.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has accused Hezbollah of working to "collapse" the state and expressed Beirut's readiness for "direct negotiations" with Israel. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa endorsed his Lebanese counterpart and backed disarming of Hezbollah". Lashing out at Hezbollah over its March 2 attack against Israel, which has drawn a devastating Israeli retaliation, Aoun said that whoever launched those missiles wanted to bring about the collapse of the Lebanese state, plunging it into aggression and chaos... all for the sake of the Iranian regime's calculations."

The head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc Mohamed Raad vowed that his group would "defend our existence whatever the cost", saying the group has “no other option to preserve honour, pride and dignity than the option of resistance.” Lebanon was drawn into the war last week when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.