DUBAI, April 18. /TASS/. The Israeli Air Force may have used banned munitions containing white phosphorus during strikes on positions of the Shiite Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, Qatar’s Al Jazeera reported.
According to the TV channel, which acquired the video of the strike, white phosphorus is a wax-like solid matter whose burning temperature reaches 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,732 degrees Fahrenheit). "This is enough to burn metal and skin down to the bone, and its chemical components can be absorbed by the body and lead to the dysfunction of many organs, including the liver, kidneys and heart," the TV channel said.
On Wednesday night, the Israel Defense Forces press office reported that Israeli fighter jets struck "significant Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure used by the terrorist organization’s aerial defense system" in Baalbek, Lebanon.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions last October. The US supplies white phosphorus munitions to Israel. In December, the Washington Post reported that Israel had used US-made white phosphorus munitions in its shelling of southern Lebanon in October. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at the time that Washington would review exactly how Israel used the munitions it received from the United States.