Israel has confirmed for the first time that it used controversial white phosphorus shells against military targets in southern Lebanon, an Israeli newspaper has reported.
White phosphorus munitions cause severe burns and agonising deaths.
The chemical seeps into the bloodstream and causes respiratory problems and other ailments in victims, which has lead many to demand it be classified as a chemical weapon.
The Haaretz daily has reported that Israeli Government-Parliamentary Relations Minister Yakov Edery told law makers last week that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have used phosphorus munitions.
"The IDF made use of phosphorus shells during the war against Hezbollah in attacks against military targets in open ground," he told the newspaper.
[The International Red Cross and other human rights groups have long argued that phosphorus weapons should be banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
US leaders went on the defensive after reports surfaced last year that American troops in Iraq had used phosphorus in the battle for Fallujah in 2004.]
Melting the Skin Off of Children
In a documentary by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, a former American soldier who fought at Fallujah says: "I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military jargon it's known as Willy Pete.
"Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone ... I saw the burned bodies of women and children. Phosphorus explodes and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 metres is done for."
The Independent, US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah
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