Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants announced today, Friday, that it will present a complaint to the United Nations Security Council on the third of this month.
The complaint addresses “Israeli attacks on agricultural lands in the southern border villages, involving the use of white phosphorus, resulting in 2,100 dunams of burned land and 6,000 dunams of affected areas.”
In a press release, the Ministry stated that the complaint is based on “an official count of documented instances of Israel’s use of white phosphorus.”
These systematic attacks, according to the Ministry, violate Rule 55 of the Additional Protocol I (1977) to the Geneva Conventions (1949), which stipulates that “care shall be taken in warfare to protect the natural environment against widespread, long-term, and severe damage.”
The Ministry calls on the UN Security Council to condemn Israel for its direct, deliberate, and repeated targeting of civilians and the natural environment in Lebanon.
It emphasizes the necessity of holding Israel accountable for these crimes and ensuring that it does not escape punishment. Failure to condemn these actions, the Ministry warns, would empower Israel to continue its aggression unchecked.
The southern border regions of Lebanon have been experiencing exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and elements of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance since October 8th, following Israel’s declaration of war on Gaza and Hezbollah’s announcement of support for Gaza from the southern front. Israel frequently uses phosphorus shells in its bombardments of southern areas.
