Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, saying the use of such weapons puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury.
WP burns yellower, and magnesium is very rare because it’s expensive and complicated. WP auto-ignites in air, magnesium has to be separately lit by the delivery system. You can’t practically put a magnesium incendiary in an artillery shell, what you see in Gaza is mostly artillery.
And suddenly switching to magnesium would be an absolute psycho move. The way you treat a WP burn is pouring tons of water on it, magnesium explodes on contact with water.
WP burns yellower, and magnesium is very rare because it’s expensive and complicated. WP auto-ignites in air, magnesium has to be separately lit by the delivery system. You can’t practically put a magnesium incendiary in an artillery shell, what you see in Gaza is mostly artillery.
And suddenly switching to magnesium would be an absolute psycho move. The way you treat a WP burn is pouring tons of water on it, magnesium explodes on contact with water.