Web Desk/AFP

Middle East

Tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate as Saudi Arabia thwarts drones targeting Shaybah oil field, UAE responds to missiles; Israel launches strikes in Iran and Beirut; Hezbollah claims downing an Israeli helicopter.

China says opposes any targeting of new Iran leader

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;.

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. 

Articles tagged with "Israeli Strikes on Lebanon"

China says opposes any targeting of new Iran leader

Israeli forces fired white phosphorus over homes in Lebanon: HRW

China says opposes any targeting of new Iran leader