The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have denied that two high-ranking military men involved in last year’s Israeli military operation in Gaza were disciplined for using phosphorus in a built-up area. The IDF is responding to an Israeli government report submitted to the United Nations this past weekend outlining its investigation into alleged abuses and crimes during last year’s incursion into the Gaza strip.

The two men were said to have been disciplined when they authorized the use of white phosphorus shells in an attack on a Hamas position two days before the end of operation Cast Lead. Some of the shells landed in a UN compound and wounded three people.

The Israeli government report is a partial response to last year’s Goldstone Report which alleges possible war crimes against civilians by both Israeli forces and Hamas before and during the conflict. The IDF had repeatedly denied the use of phosphorus shells, which are permitted in battlefield conditions but not when they may endanger civilians. The shells are used as incendiary devices and burn for hours.

Links to other sites: Haaretz, IDF, Reuters, The Times

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