White phosphorus: Israeli and American War Crimes

Below is an article on the effects of White Phosphorus on human victims.  White phosphorus has been used on civilian populations by both the US and Israel.  The people of Fallujah, Iraq are experiencing major health problems including an alarming increase in cancer cases and their children are being born with horrific deformities and defects due in part to white phosphorus and other chemicals America used on the city during the Gulf War.  It is now said that the population there is suffering as much as the population of Hiroshima, Japan after the atomic bomb was dropped.  

This article features the story of a man from Gaza, Palestine.  During a 23 day period in 2008-09, Israel attacked the Gaza Strip (Operation Cast Lead) in response to sporadic [homemade] rocket attacks from within its borders.  Over 9 years, approximately 30 Israelis were killed by such rockets; In 23 days, Israel killed about 1,400 Palestinians, over 300 of whom were children. In the attack, Israel used white phosphorus, it says, to light the battlefield.  The evidence suggests differently.  As for a "battlefield," the Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated places on Earth with more than 1.5 million people packed into 139 square miles.  The "battlefield" is actually an urban area.  With closed borders and a sea blockade, civilians had no where to run.  The picture in the article below is of an occupied school with white phosphorus raining down upon it.  It was one of 280 schools destroyed by the Israeli terrorist state.  In addition, Israel destroyed 11,000+ homes, 200 factories, 15 of 27 hospitals, well the list goes on.  All war crimes.  

The use of white phosphorus on civilian populations is a WAR CRIME!

The following article is reprinted in its entirety from the Middle East Monitor.  The original post can be accessed HERE.

White phosphorus burns

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 16:00

(The Lancet) In January, 2009, an 18-year-old man presented to the emergency department after suffering an attack with an incendiary shell. He had many painful patches of full-thickness burns, which were surrounded by sloughed tissue. His wounds covered 30% of his body surface area, and were distributed on both upper and lower limbs, and his right shoulder.

There were no signs of inhalation burns. After a clinical diagnosis of white phosphorus burns was made, the airway was secured, resuscitation fluid was initiated, and wounds were irrigated with diluted sodium bicarbonate solution before wet dressing.

¹day after admission to the burns unit, white smoke was noticed emanating from the wounds, which now contained extensive necrotic tissue and had extended into the underlying tissue.

He was urgently transferred to the operating room for debridement and excision of necrotic tissue, and removal of white phosphorus particles. During debridement, a white phosphorus particle was accidentally dislodged resulting in a superficial burn on a nurse's neck.

We transferred our patient to the intensive care unit for monitoring of vital signs, electrolyte disturbance (in particular hypocalcaemia), and electrocardiogram (ECG) changes.

After 8 days in hospital, our patient was relatively well, and was discharged without any systemic complications.

At 16-month follow-up, our patient was well; however, hypertrophic, mildly tender scars remained on his chest, arm, and thigh.

White phosphorus is a smoke-producing, waxy, yellow transparent combustible solid,¹ which is used mainly in military and industrial settings. In the presence of oxygen, it spontaneously ignites with a yellow flame and produces dense smoke; it extinguishes only when deprived of oxygen or totally consumed.²

On contact with exposed skin, white phosphorus produces painful chemical burns;3 these typically appear as yellowish, necrotic, full-thickness lesions due to both chemical and thermal components. Because white phosphorus has high lipid solubility, the injuries often extend deep into underlying tissues with resultant delayed wound healing.

White phosphorus can also be absorbed systemically resulting in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome because of its effect on erythrocytes, kidneys, liver, and heart.²,⁴

First aid management of white phosphorus burns includes removal of the patient's clothes and application of saline or a water-soaked dressing.

1 On the basis of animal studies and case reports, in the emergency department, continuous irrigation with water is recommended to minimise the complications of the burn,¹, ², ⁴ and large easily identifiable particles of white phosphorus should be debrided. Wood lamp (ultraviolet light) or a solution of 0·5% copper sulphate can be used to facilitate the extinction of embedded particles.⁴

In critically ill patients, excision of the necrotic tissue and skin grafting, plus appropriate fluid replacement, and close monitoring of electrolytes and ECG are required to avoid predictable complications like hypocalcaemia, hyperphosphataemia, and cardiac arrhythmia. White phosphorus burns are associated with significant morbidity often necessitating lengthy hospital stays. Extreme cases can be fatal. We cannot give an estimate of the number of such cases in our burns unit because it is in a war situation in which no formal recording was done; these burns are rarely encountered in practice and literature describing cases is limited.

According to the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons it is prohibited to make civilians the object of attack by incendiary weapons.

Contributors Patient management: NS, SS, LB; writing the report: LB, NB. Written consent to publish was obtained.

Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians


References
¹ Lisandro I. CBRNE-incendiary agents, white phosphorus. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/833585-overview. (accessed May 21, 2010).
² Eldad A, Simon GA. The phosphorous burn-a preliminary comparative experimental study of various forms of treatment. Burns 1991; 17: 198-200. CrossRef | PubMed
³ Chou TD, Lee TW, Chen SL, et al. The management of white phosphorus burns. Burns 2001; 27: 492-497. CrossRef | PubMed
⁴ Davis KG. Acute management of white phosphorus burn. Mil Med 2002; 167: 83-84. PubMed a Faculty of Medicine, Al Quds University, Abu-Deis, Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territory b Department of Surgery, Shifa Medical Centre, Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory c Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns, Shifa Medical Centre, Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory d Al Nasser Pediatric Hospital, Gaza Strip, occupied Palestinian territory Correspondence to: Loai Nabil Al Barqouni, Faculty of Medicine, Al Quds University, Abu-Deis, Jerusalem, 00970 occupied Palestinian territory.

---

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.