Credible media reports have indicated that the Israeli military is using White Phosphorus artillery shells in its bombing of Gaza. ADC National Executive Director Kareem Shora said, "White Phosphorus is categorized as a chemical weapon by most governments and its use in civilian areas is banned by the 1980 Geneva Convention. It is a violation of international humanitarian law and the laws of war to use White Phosphorus ammunition, an incendiary weapon, in civilian areas."
The UN has listed Gaza, with a population of 1.5-Million people, as the most densely populated area in the world with a population density that is higher than that of Manhattan in New York City. White Phosphorus causes painful burn injuries to exposed human flesh.
The Israeli military used White Phosphorus ammunition during the 2006 war on Lebanon as documented by ADC in its extensive 233-page report Eyewitness Lebanon: an International Law Inquiry. White phosphorus is an indiscriminate killer that ignites once it is exposed to oxygen, producing such heat that it bursts into a yellow flame and produces a dense white smoke.