© Image verified and geolocated by Ahmad BaydounExplosion of four white phosphorus munitions over the village of Kfar Kela, in southern Lebanon, on January 14, 2024. Coordinates: 33.2775017898045, 35.5617281832726
Burnt olive groves, devastated fields and toxic fragments buried underground - in southern Lebanon, Israel's use of white phosphorus during the conflict with Hezbollah from October 2023 to November 2024 left a lasting mark.
Although not explicitly prohibited by international law, the use of white phosphorus is regulated as an incendiary weapon. Its use against civilians or in populated areas is prohibited. In June 2024, the Israeli army claimed that it did not use white phosphorus shells to target or set fires, adding that "Israel Defence Forces procedures require that such shells are not used in densely populated areas, subject to certain exceptions".
'91% of white phosphorus strikes took place before Israeli forces entered southern Lebanon'
Ahmad Baydoun is an open source intelligence (OSINT) researcher at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. According to data from the study he led, presented in an interactive map published in October 2025, a significant proportion of white phosphorus strikes in southern Lebanon hit civilian and agricultural areas.
Screenshot of the WhitePhosphorus interactive map, showing the use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon between October 2023 and November 2024.
Collecting this data involved combining digital tools, verification of images posted on social media (particularly Facebook and Instagram), and testimonies from residents on the ground. Baydoun explains:
"Israel justifies the use of white phosphorus as a smoke screen to protect the movements of its troops or to mark targets. But according to my research, 91 percent of white phosphorus strikes took place before Israeli forces entered southern Lebanon in October 2024, which contradicts the official Israeli version. Furthermore, 39 percent of all phosphorus strikes we documented took place over civilian areas, 16 percent over agricultural land, and only 44 percent in uninhabited areas or areas far from residents."NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented the use of white phosphorus in or near residential areas, contradicting official Israeli statements.
'A persistent danger to human life and livestock'
White phosphorus was used only with artillery during the last war, according to Baydoun. The munition explodes, scattering incandescent fragments over a wide area, reaching temperatures of up to 800°C.
Baydoun told our team:
"The munitions explode in the air and produce 115 small fragments that sink into the ground and continue to emit this toxic substance for ten to fifteen minutes. Fragments can remain active in the ground. They can remain dormant until they are exposed to oxygen again. Then they reactivate and produce smoke.The study lists nearly 28,700 fragments scattered throughout the region, which are considered very difficult to extract.
We had a farmer in southern Lebanon who, a year after the initial strike, hit a fragment with a stick, and the fragment started emitting toxic smoke again, demonstrating the ongoing danger to people's lives and livestock."
"It is very difficult to extract them from the ground. If someone has livestock and that livestock eats one of these fragments, it dies immediately, and if a human consumes the meat from that livestock, they also die."Among the villages in southern Lebanon most affected by white phosphorus strikes are Al-Khiam (30 incidents), Meiss El-Jabal (28 strikes), Kfar Kila (26 strikes), Yaroun (24 strikes) and Rmaysh (17 strikes).
© GreenSoutherners.Felt pad soaked in white phosphorus found by residents near the village of Rab El Thalatine on September 15, 2024. Geolocation: 33.247278, 35.529111.
Thanks to the geolocation of hundreds of photos and videos, Baydoun's project has precisely documented 248 strikes. Residents can check whether their land or homes have been affected.
Many residents express fear of consuming local products, particularly olive oil and vegetables, over concerns of invisible contamination. In February 2025, analyses conducted by the Lebanese Ministries of Agriculture and Environment did not detect traces of phosphorus in olive samples. However, high concentrations were found in some soils, posing a potential risk to future harvests.
According to the United Nations FAO, nearly 2,100 hectares of orchards were burned, 2.3 million livestock were killed, and agricultural losses in the south of the country and the Bekaa Valley (in eastern Lebanon) exceeded 704 million dollars between October 2023 and November 2024.
This article has been translated from the original in French.
Reader Comments
And their nuclear ambitions will likely be shot down fore they even lift off - and then the hypersonic missiles will literally turn Tel Aviv into dust.
Must suck to live there when the nuclear weapon explodes on the lift off - only to harm those nearby - and then a wave of hypersonic missiles come in to finish off the deed.
Fuck you Israel - fuck you Net-in-ya-hoo - push it - go ahead.
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Chapter 1 - Sergeant Confirm Orders Sergeant’s Response : That’s red-yellow engage the missile sir . Officer in Charge : Order confirmed Sergeant. Officer in Charge : Lieutenant 1 - Engage the Missile . Lieutenant 1 : Missile Engagement Sequence Commenced. Officer in Charge : Lieutenant 1 - Engagement Commenced? Lieutenant 1 : Correct Officer - Confirmed. Officer in Charge : Major on Duty - Missile Engaged - Status Please. Major on Duty : Confirmed Officer - the Missile is Ready to Fly . Officer in Charge : General of the Base - Missile is Ready to Fly - Acknowledge. General of the Base: Acknowledged and awaiting final orders. Officer in Charge : Authority to release missile to destination requested - Is Authority Granted….. ~~~~~~~~~~~It was at this moment, the communications all went silent , the missile remained in place, but it was already engaged and ready to fly - then it exploded inexplicably in place and all the troops were fried in an instant - The Base was obliterated . That missile never left the silo but it exploded nonetheless….Twas the beginning of the end of Australia. A place only remembered in stories….and when radiation and heat intense was inflicted upon the local community in about a 50-mile radius there was very little life left over in the place and the games of the Base Infrastructure (BI) Authorities took a twist that in their hubris they never sensed - and within 24 hours all the BI upper echelon were dead - it was swift and precise. Goes to show easy to say after the fact - but they had lost all sense of humanity and hard lessons were the only way left they could learn.Something had come through a “portal” and that something put an end to the BI ambitions - but then…..well another story is told here: Sometime in the 2030’s those believers in the BI thought they had everything under wraps and had taught all the remaining resisters that - “resistance is futile”, but that is when they got an unexpected delivery (another story completely) that essentially wiped out in a fell swoop the whole command structure of BI…after that pandemonium ensued for a decade or so and here we are now in 2112 in a state of heightened unsteadiness seeming close to the edge of the end for everybody. This story is about the portal and the magnificent power within.Chapter 2 - The Day PriorThe day prior to the “ Base Obliteration ” soldiers and other authorities on the base location were going through normal business - the business of war and subsuming those unwilling to relinquish their dignity to central control - with an Iron Fist. During a high-level meeting the following conversation occurred: Officer in Charge : I stamp my fist down upon this table - you will do as I say. Rear Admiral : Stamp your fist all you want - but you are out of line …. (There was dismay at the table - nobody realized this Rear Admiral was willing to confront the Officer in Charge) Officer in Charge : Admiral - you are dismissed from this table. Your statement is “ insubordination ” and will not be tolerated.And then just like that the Rear Admiral was excused from the table unwillingly and then summarily dispatched (executed) in front of others sitting there - and that was that. Just another dead body. Colonel Dismayed but Fearful : Officer - What Happens Next? Officer in Charge : Colonel - Tomorrow I have per proper council that it is going to be time to let the missiles fly….. Major on Duty : Should preparations BE made - should the alert level be raised? Officer in Charge : Yes - do that now . Everybody - you have you orders - this meeting is adjourned - it is over .The Officer in Charge left the table first knowing all were in fear of the power wielded - in the mind of the Officer in Charge …..
You must know - "Central Authority" will be resisted - forevermore.
Chapter 2 - The Day PriorThe day prior to the “ Base Obliteration ” soldiers and other authorities on the base location were going through normal business - the business of war and subsuming those unwilling to relinquish their dignity to central control - with an Iron Fist. During a high-level meeting the following conversation occurred: Officer in Charge : I stamp my fist down upon this table - you will do as I say. Rear Admiral : Stamp your fist all you want - but you are out of line …. (There was dismay at the table - nobody realized this Rear Admiral was willing to confront the Officer in Charge) Officer in Charge : Admiral - you are dismissed from this table. Your statement is “ insubordination ” and will not be tolerated.And then just like that the Rear Admiral was excused from the table unwillingly and then summarily dispatched (executed) in front of others sitting there - and that was that. Just another dead body. Colonel Dismayed but Fearful : Officer - What Happens Next? Officer in Charge : Colonel - Tomorrow I have per proper council that it is going to be time to let the missiles fly….. Major on Duty : Should preparations BE made - should the alert level be raised? Officer in Charge : Yes - do that now . Everybody - you have you orders - this meeting is adjourned - it is over .The Officer in Charge left the table first knowing all were in fear of the power wielded - in the mind of the Officer in Charge …..~~~The Colonel spoke privately to the Major after this meeting when he witnessed the execution of the Rear Admiral and said simply: Son - if I was you I would depart this place posthaste . And with that, the Colonel get into his vehicle and did what he advised the Major to do. Sadly, the Major did not take his friends advice and he along with the Officer in Charge - and everybody basically - all life within 50 miles of the base died the next day.It was also the next day, when precise targets were eliminated world-wide in a stroke of Retribution against the BI. The few that remained tried to hide out, but they were pulled out of the jungle, out of their bunkers and summarily executed - because let it be known:thou shall reap what thee sowsChapter 3 - The Week PriorIt turns out the “Officer in Charge” whose death was but seven days away made several mistakes in his dealing with others prior to the “accident” resulting in the demise of said officer. Here is a list of mistakes made in the week prior.Officer in Charge spoke harshly to family members and behaved like a bully.Officer in Charge lied to his partners in crime and to so many others including family members.Officer in Charge stole from others - including family members.Officer in Charge killed many - twas done casually as if life of others was worthless compared to the Officer in Charge’s desires.Officer in Charge was NOT a good person and everybody knew this.Well - after awhile even if thee be the “Officer in Charge” - after awhile one makes too many mistakes, then fate, Karma, Lady Libra - call it what you will - forces stronger come into play to balance the scales - and Officer in Charge lived a life of harm, and that was the choice made willingly. A wrong choice no doubt easy to say in hindsight, but during the time of it, Officer in Charge thought nobody and nothing can stop me - I am so righteous and my will is undeniable - my will must be is what said officer now dead and forgotten thought - that was the beginning of the end which occurred seven days later and now nobody even remembers the name nor who the Officer in Charge ever was…..cause said officer was obliterated for all time thereafter. Just like so many before - so many made the same mistakes — said officer was destined to meet fate deserved by virtue of choices made in free will. So the moral of the story? Don’t lie, don’t steal, and don’t kill. Simple as that~~~~EpilogueCounter job has been completed - now tis time for the next job.The next job tis serious business - don’t be afraid and all walls eventually get broken.Oh my oh me oh my - Oh Lord in Heaven - oh me oh my…
Justified Retribution takes no prisoners.