The Christian Science Monitor reports that doctors in Gaza are fairly certain Irsrael used munitions containing white phosphorous. The Israeli Defense Force claims they only use weapons permitted by international law; however, the evidence from Palestinian burn victims points in another direction.
Dr. Khalil of the Shifa Hospital's burn unit stated:
"It's the first time we've seen anything like this," he says. "It's completely different from the usual burns we see every day. It's very deep, and if you smell it, you have a hard time breathing. It goes beyond a fourth-degree burn. It can burn through the muscle and can reach the bone."
According to the CS Monitor:
His description matches one about white phosphorous found on the globalsecurity.org website:
"The particles continue to burn unless deprived of atmospheric oxygen. Contact with these particles can cause local burns. These weapons are particularly nasty because white phosphorus continues to burn until it disappears. If service members are hit by pieces of white phosphorus, it could burn right down to the bone."
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