Click to expand Image A white phosphorus munition airbursts over buildings in the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon during an Israeli bombardment on October 31, 2024. © 2024 AFP via Getty Images Recent use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in Lebanon underscores the need for new international law to regulate these devastating weapons.White phosphorus munitions can inflict excruciating burns and cause lifelong physical, psychological, and socioeconomic harm.Countries should condemn ongoing use of white phosphorus munitions, call for further international talks on the matter, and ensure that international law adequately addresses the weapons’ unacceptable human costs. (New York, September 9, 2026) – Recent use of white phosphorus munitions by Israeli forces in Lebanon underscores the need for new international law to regulate these devastating weapons, Human Rights Watch and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School said in a report released today. The groups urged countries to take up the issue at the United Nations General Assembly’s monthlong disarmament meeting in New York in October 2026.The 45-page report, “Uncontrolled Burn: The Inhumane Effects of White Phosphorus Munitions and the Need for Stronger Law,” documents 23 verified incidents of Israeli use in southern Lebanon between March and May 2026. The report also details the horrific harm the munitions have caused in armed conflicts in recent years. White phosphorus munitions, which produce fire when their payload is exposed to oxygen, are not currently regulated by a specific treaty. September 9, 2026 Uncontrolled Burn The Inhumane Effects of White Phosphorus Munitions and the Need for Stronger Law Download the full report in English Annex “White phosphorus munitions can inflict excruciating burns and cause lifelong physical, psychological, and socioeconomic harm,” said Bonnie Docherty, senior arms advisor at Human Rights Watch and lecturer at the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School. “Countries should condemn ongoing use of white phosphorus munitions, call for further international talks on the matter, and ensure that international law adequately addresses the weapons’ unacceptable human costs.” The findings of the report are based on legal analysis, open-source investigation, 16 in-person and remote interviews, monitoring of diplomatic procedures, and desk research. Additional reported uses of white phosphorus munitions since 2000 include by Israel in Gaza in 2008-2009 and 2023; by US-led coalition forces against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria in 2017; by Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces in Yemen in 2016; by Ethiopian forces in Somalia in 2007; by NATO forces, primarily from the United States, and anti-government forces in Afghanistan between 2005-2011; and by the United States in Iraq in 2004.White phosphorus munitions burst in the air over populated areas are indiscriminate—that is, they cannot distinguish between combatants and civilians—and thus violate general international humanitarian law. But despite their incendiary effects, white phosphorus munitions are not covered by the 1980 Protocol III to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), which is dedicated to regulating incendiary weapons. The protocol defines incendiary weapons as being “primarily designed” to set fires and burn people. This definition excludes weapons that are designed for other purposes, even if they produce the same incendiary effects. It does not encompass white phosphorus munitions because they are primarily designed to obscure or illuminate military actions. Human Rights Watch and the Harvard clinic assessed white phosphorus munitions through the lens of the Martens Clause, a provision of international humanitarian law that states that when there is no specific treaty on a topic, civilians and combatants are protected by the principles of humanity and dictates of public conscience. White phosphorus munitions trigger the Martens Clause, the groups said in the report. The inhumane and difficult-to-treat injuries they cause are incompatible with the principles of humanity. White phosphorus can burn people to the bone, and any particles left in a wound can reignite when bandages are removed and they are exposed to oxygen. Objections from countries, international organizations, civil society groups, medical professionals, and financial institutions provide evidence that the munitions run contrary to the dictates of public conscience. Stronger and specific international law is needed to address these issues, Human Rights Watch and the Harvard clinic said.“Diplomats, doctors, UN investigators, and others have expressed outrage at the cruel injuries caused by white phosphorus munitions,” Docherty said. “Countries have adopted treaties on poison gas and blinding lasers because they were inhumane and contrary to public conscience. They should do the same for white phosphorus munitions.”Because white phosphorus munitions are designed to be used for their ability to burn, not for their toxicity, they are not considered chemical weapons and are not covered by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Much of the discussion of white phosphorus munitions thus far has taken place under the auspices of the Convention on Conventional Weapons. Dozens of countries have condemned the harm they cause and called for dedicated discussions on the topic. CCW meetings operate by consensus, however, and Russia and other opponents of stronger law have blocked proposals to set aside time to discuss the humanitarian impacts of incendiary weapons and weapons with incendiary effects as well as the inadequacy of Protocol III. Despite these obstacles, countries that support action against white phosphorus should also raise the issue at the CCW’s five-year Review Conference, scheduled for November 16-20 at the UN in Geneva. “The ultimate goal should be the adoption of strong international law that closes current legal loopholes and stigmatizes the use of white phosphorus munitions,” Docherty said. “A complete ban on production, transfer, and use of these weapons would have the greatest humanitarian benefits.”