BEIRUT:&nbsp;Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Israel of &quot;unlawfully&quot; using white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town last week. &quot;The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor,&quot; the New York-based rights group said in a report. HRW added that it &quot;verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires in at least two homes and one car in that area&quot;.<div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DDxQiIA9jKU" title="Fresh strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli warning" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div>White phosphorus, a substance that ignites on contact with oxygen, can be used to create smokescreens and to illuminate battlefields. Horrific burns&nbsp;But the munition can also be used as an incendiary weapon and can cause fires, horrific burns, respiratory damage, organ failure and death. Israel -- which kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire -- launched multiple waves of strikes across Lebanon since last week and sent ground troops into border areas. Nearly 400 killed&nbsp;At least 394 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, Lebanese authorities said, registering more than half a million people as displaced.<div class="fr-embed youtube-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fzVU2A-ExsQ" title="At least 30,000 displaced in Lebanon by Middle East conflict, UN refugee agency says" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;"></iframe>&nbsp;</div>&quot;The Israeli military&#39;s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,&quot; Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW, was quoted saying in the report. &quot;Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas,&quot; he added. &lsquo;Phosphorus shelling&rsquo;Lebanese authorities and HRW have over the past years accused Israel of using controversial white phosphorus rounds, in attacks authorities say have harmed civilians and the environment. Lebanon&#39;s state-run National News Agency on Sunday said Israeli forces targeted the towns of Khiam and Tal Nahas, near the border with Israel, &quot;with artillery and phosphorus shelling&quot;. Last month, Lebanon accused Israel of spraying the herbicide glyphosate on the Lebanese side of their shared border, with President Joseph Aoun decrying it as a &quot;crime against the environment&quot;.

Middle East

Says it, ‘verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of’ a Lebanese town; at least 394 people have been killed in Israeli attacks. 

Israeli forces fired white phosphorus over homes in Lebanon: HRW

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban in Afghanistan increased repression of women and girls in 2025 and imposed new restrictions limiting media freedom, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2026 released on Tuesday. &ldquo;Governments need to press the Taliban to end their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/afghanistan-bans-women-from-heavy-labour-in-nuristan-province" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">horrific abuses</a>,&rdquo; said Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher at HRW.&nbsp; &ldquo;The Taliban&rsquo;s unrelenting repression should push governments to support efforts to hold all those responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan to account.&rdquo; In its 36th edition, the 529-page World Report 2026 reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries.&nbsp; Executive Director Philippe Bolopion wrote in the report&rsquo;s introductory essay that breaking the global wave of authoritarianism is &ldquo;the challenge of a generation.&rdquo;&nbsp;&lsquo;Gender apartheid&rsquo;HRW said the Taliban issued new laws restricting women&rsquo;s freedom of movement and access to public spaces, while enforcing existing bans on post-primary education and limitations on employment, abuses United Nations experts have called &ldquo;gender apartheid.&rdquo;&nbsp; In July, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders for the crime against humanity of gender persecution.&nbsp; On Oct. 6, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution creating an independent mechanism to investigate past and ongoing human rights abuses in Afghanistan.&nbsp;&lsquo;Morality&rsquo; lawsThe report also detailed new restrictions on media freedom, arbitrary detentions of critics, and arrests for alleged violations of &ldquo;morality&rdquo; laws, including improper hijab use or failing to maintain separate workplace facilities for men and women.&nbsp; HRW noted that fewer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/afghanistan-revokes-licenses-of-media-journalists-due-to-unprofessionalism" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">journalists</a>&nbsp;were working due to foreign aid cuts and Taliban policies. The organization urged governments to continue pressuring the Taliban to end human rights violations.

Afghanistan

Human Rights Watch says the Taliban issued new laws restricting women’s freedom of movement and access to public spaces, while enforcing existing bans on post-primary education and limitations on employment, abuses United Nations experts have called ‘gender apartheid.’

Articles tagged with "Human Rights Watch"

Israeli forces fired white phosphorus over homes in Lebanon: HRW

Taliban tighten restrictions on women, media in Afghanistan: HRW