UN officials say that the use of white phosphorus caused millions of dollars in damage and could have led to a 'great loss of life'
Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg is one of two senior Israeli officers to be reprimanded for the use of white phosphorus in Gaza
Muhammad Nabih Ahmed, 17, who sustained severe injuries from white phosphorus in Gaza
Israel has reprimanded two senior army officers who were responsible for firing white phosphorus artillery shells at a UN compound during last year’s offensive in Gaza.
In the first admission of any wrongdoing the Israeli military found that Brigadier-General Eyal Eisenberg and Colonel Ilan Malka were guilty “of exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardised the lives of others”.
The Israeli report was in response to a damning UN investigation into the Gaza war, which concluded that both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group, had committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity and which called on both sides to investigate the conduct of their forces.
An Israeli defence official said that its internal investigation could lead to further disciplinary action against soldiers involved in the 22-day offensive. The two officers disciplined yesterday were served a mild reprimand and had a “note” placed in their personal files noting their involvement. One defence official described the punishment as a “slap on the wrist.”
The Times first revealed that Israeli artillery was firing white phosphorus rounds into the heavily populated Palestinian enclave.
The reports were at first denied by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), which admitted later that the munitions had been used to provide smoke and tracer illumination during the incursion. International law prohibits the use of white phosphorus in heavily populated civilian areas, but allows it in open areas to be used as cover for troops. The incident in the IDF report occurred on January 15 when General Eisenberg and Colonel Malka were responsible for bombarding the UN compound. During the incident, near the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood south of Gaza City, Israeli forces from the Givati unit were exchanging fire with Hamas fighters.
Hamas held a position with a commanding view of advancing Israeli troops, with the UN’s headquarters directly between the two forces. The artillery attack by 155mm cannon, which took place while more than 700 Palestinian civilians were taking refuge inside, set light to a warehouse storing millions of dollars’ worth of aid for more than a million Gazans and destroyed tonnes of food and supplies.
A high-ranking UN official told The Times that half a dozen unexploded IDF shells were found in the UN compound and their serial numbers were traced to US factories. “The burning down of the UN compound in Gaza is massively symbolic,” said Chris Gunness, a UN spokesman.
Human rights groups have accused Israel of violating the rules of warfare in Gaza.
Although white phosphorus is not mentioned in the officers’ reprimands, the Israeli report reveals elsewhere that the munitions were in use. The shells disperse hundreds of pieces of felt soaked in the incendiary chemical, which continues to burn for as long as it is exposed to oxygen.
The IDF report said: “The primary rationale for deploying smoke screening munitions containing white phosphorus was to produce a smokescreen to protect Israeli forces from the Hamas anti-tank crews operating adjacent to the UNRWA headquarters. Such a smokescreen has proven an effective response to the anti-tank threat, since it effectively blocks the enemy’s field of view . . . The smokescreen created during the fighting in Tel al-Hawa was effective in achieving its military objective.” It concluded: “In the absence of the smokescreen, the fight would have continued in this area, and the IDF would have had to use reactive fire to engage anti-tank units, with the likelihood of greater civilian harm.”
UN officials argue that the use of white phosphorus caused millions of dollars in damage and could have led to a “great loss of life”.
Israel and white phosphorus
January 5 2009: The Times reveals that Israel is using the controversial munition
January 8 2009: The Times publishes pictures of white phosphorus shells ready for use by the IDF, and reveals that civilians are suffering horrific burns
January 12 2009: Pressure on Israel increases as doctors reveal they are treating 50 injured by white phosphorus in a single incident
January 15 2009: UN headquarters in Gaza is hit / Human Rights Watch condemns use of white phosphorus
January 20 2009: Mahmoud, 14, blinded in both eyes by phosphorus
January 24 2009: IDF admits for the first time that white phosphorus was used in Gaza/Amnesty accuses both Hamas and IDF of war crimes
April 23 2009: Israel inaccurately claims it stopped using white phosphorus on January 7 because of the Times report
September 16 2009: Goldstone report accuses Israel of war crimes and of reckless use of phosphorus in Gaza
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