NEW YORK, June 5. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used munitions containing white phosphorus in at least 17 municipalities in southern Lebanon, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report.

"Human Rights Watch identified the use of white phosphorus munitions in 17 municipalities across south Lebanon since October 2023. This includes five municipalities where airburst munitions were used over populated areas," the New York-based non-governmental organization said in a press release.

According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, as of late May, exposure to white phosphorus had injured at least 173 people since October.

"Israel’s use of airburst white phosphorus munitions in populated areas indiscriminately harms civilians and has led many to leave their homes," Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW, said. He called on the Jewish state to immediately stop using white phosphorus munitions in populated areas, "especially when less-harmful alternatives are readily available

On May 2, Lebanon’s Agriculture Minister Abbas Al Hajj Hassan told TASS in an interview that the use of white phosphorus munitions prohibited by international conventions by Israel in its attacks on Lebanese soil had caused a huge damage to the republic’s farmers. While Lebanon has yet to assess the scope of the environmental damage the war has done to the economy of the country’s south, experts put a preliminary figure in interviews with the Lebanese media at over $3 bln.

On April 3, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati declared southern Lebanon an "agricultural disaster zone" amid Israeli attacks, as he said that 75% of farmers in the south had lost their source of income, while as many as 100,000 people had been displaced.