How a Lebanese researcher is using visual data to map Israeli military’s use of white phosphorus

Special Shells that appears to be white phosphorus from Israeli artillery explode over Dahaira, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP)
Shells that appears to be white phosphorus from Israeli artillery explode over Dahaira, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 11 November 2024
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How a Lebanese researcher is using visual data to map Israeli military’s use of white phosphorus

How a Lebanese researcher is using visual data to map Israeli military’s use of white phosphorus
  • White phosphorus is used to create smokescreens on battlefields, but its misuse has many public health implications
  • Ahmad Baydoun maps Israel’s use of the chemical compound in southern Lebanon to document its environmental impact

DUBAI: When Ahmad Baydoun left Lebanon in 2022 to pursue a PhD on weaponized environments in Amsterdam, he did not anticipate his research would soon become essential in documenting devastation in his homeland.

His work has gained significance in the wake of escalating violence in Lebanon’s south, where reports allege Israeli forces have used white phosphorus in populated areas with severe consequences for the environment and public health.

White phosphorus is an incendiary substance known for emitting bright light, intense burning and thick smoke.




A view of M825 and M825A1 artillery shells labeled D528, the US Department of Defense Identification Code for "white phosphorus-based munitions" in Sderot, Israel on October 09, 2023. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Although it is permissible under international law to use phosphorus to obscure military movements, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons prohibits deploying it near civilians.

Using geolocated visual data to trace the environmental impact of military tactics, Baydoun has been documenting Israel’s use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon, both to bear witness and to demand accountability.

“Geolocation humanizes those affected and gives precision,” Baydoun told Arab News. “It’s hard to look away when you see the impact on people’s homes and landscapes.”

FASTFACTS

• White phosphorus is a chemical substance that ignites upon exposure to oxygen, creating intense, long-lasting flames and thick smoke.

• It is used militarily to obscure movement, mark targets and create smokescreens on battlefields.

• Contact with white phosphorus causes severe burns, respiratory damage and eye irritation, and it can be fatal if inhaled or absorbed.

• Residual chemicals seep into soil and water, contaminating crops and harming biodiversity, with lasting ecological damage.

• International law restricts white phosphorus use in civilian areas under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Geneva Protocol.

Baydoun’s journey from academia to advocacy was unexpected. His fascination with architectural policies and conflict initially revolved around how built environments could be manipulated for control and exclusion during wartime.

However, when cross-border exchanges between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia began on Oct. 8, 2023, the situation demanded a response.




Wounded Lebanese child Haidar Hijazi, 5, rests at hospital in Sidon on September 27, 2024, after he was injured following an Israeli airstrike that targeted his home village of al-Sharkiyah in southern Lebanon. (AFP)

Hezbollah began firing rockets into populated areas of northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas, prompting Israel to retaliate.

In northern Israel, the conflict has forced some 96,000 people to leave their homes. To date, 68 Israeli security personnel and 43 civilians have been killed, according to official tallies.

Israel’s campaign of airstrikes and “limited” ground operations have displaced more than a million Lebanese from their homes, while the death toll has surpassed 3,000, according to health officials.




Members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol the southern Lebanese Marjayoun district, near the border with Israel, on October 16, 2024. (AFP)

Baydoun shifted from theoretical work to real-time monitoring, using satellite imagery, social media, and data verification to map alleged phosphorus attacks on Lebanese villages.

The Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research estimates that 117 phosphoric bombs have been fired into southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, since October 2023. Many of these have reportedly sparked fires, engulfing fields, forests and villages.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Environment has previously said some 462 hectares of forests and farmland were destroyed between October and November 2023. The Ministry of Health has also called on the international community to condemn the use of white phosphorus and to intervene.




The devastation and destruction of many villages along the Blue Line, and even beyond, is shocking, says Andrea Tenenti, UNIFIL spokesperson

Despite Israel’s insistence that its use of phosphorus serves only as a smokescreen to shield its soldiers’ movements, local Lebanese officials say the weapons are part of a larger strategy to render the area uninhabitable, pushing residents to evacuate en masse.

The use of white phosphorus in populated areas is not just a violation of international law, but a public health threat. When it comes into contact with the skin, it causes extreme, often fatal, burns. It also produces thick fumes that irritate the eyes and respiratory system.

Wounds caused by phosphorus burns can continue to inflict damage days after exposure, requiring extensive medical care — often unavailable in the midst of conflict.




Ahmad Baydoun. (Supplied)

Mental health issues also proliferate among survivors, with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and insomnia becoming prevalent. The persistent psychological impact, especially for children, is immense and underreported.

The environmental damage is equally far-reaching. When the chemical compound seeps into the soil, it contaminates vegetation and crops, potentially rendering large areas of farmland unusable.

Additionally, chemicals can leach into rivers and water systems, destroying biodiversity and threatening communities reliant on these resources.




People watch as a smoke cloud erupts after a rocket fired by an Israeli war plane hit a building in Beirut's southern suburb of Shayah on October 22, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

“We’re not just talking about Lebanon,” said Baydoun. “If these areas aren’t detoxified, we’ll see consequences across the region. Lebanese agricultural exports could carry these toxins, affecting ecosystems and markets beyond our borders.”

Agriculture makes up a significant part of Lebanon’s economy. The contamination of farmland in Lebanon’s south — an area once responsible for much of the country’s crop production — could deal a severe blow to the local economy and food security.

Farmers in southern Lebanon, many already impoverished, face the loss of homes and livelihoods. The destruction of olive groves, citrus orchards and wheat fields reduces local sustenance and regional exports, deepening Lebanon’s economic crisis.




Fire sweep over the Marjayoun plain in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel after being hit by Israeli shelling on August 16, 2024, amid the ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

While Baydoun works from Amsterdam, his research methods allow him to follow developments closely.

He employs techniques such as geolocation, where he uses digital imagery and coordinates to pinpoint attacks, and chronolocation, a process of using environmental cues like shadow lengths to estimate times.

These tools help him cross-verify incidents with reliable satellite data, providing accurate, real-time assessments.




A farmer collects his dead livestock which was killed by Israeli bombardment that hit a farm along the hills of the village of Jezzine in southern Lebanon early on July 8, 2024 amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

“Verifying attacks can be complex given how rife misinformation and AI manipulation have become,” said Baydoun. “But every precise verification adds to a larger story — one that’s too compelling to ignore.”

He is not alone in his commitment to these methods. Collaborating with digital investigative platforms, Baydoun joins a global community of researchers dedicated to documenting environmental violence.

Together, they expose patterns of harm that may otherwise remain concealed.




Medical staff care for victims after the Israeli military struck a Beirut's southern suburb, on July 30, 2024, at Bahman hospital. (AFP)

Baydoun also works closely with Lebanese journalist-activists, who help him obtain localized information from remote areas that journalists can no longer access due to safety concerns.

“No one is there to report on what is happening in the south anymore,” said Baydoun. “There is only the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and satellite imagery as sources of information.

“I have previously worked on a map showing how close Israel was bombing near the UN peacekeepers in the area. The peacekeeping forces suffered from gastrointestinal complications, and skin irritations; both are unique effects of exposure to white phosphorus.”

UNIFIL is a UN peacekeeping mission established in 1978 to administer the Blue Line demarking the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Despite spokesperson Andrea Tenenti previously saying that an investigation had found “possible traces of the use of white phosphorus” in close proximity to a UNIFIL base, a confidential report recently published by the Financial Times has been more damning.

The report mentions various incidents where Israeli forces have mounted attacks on or near UNIFIL bases in Lebanon. In one incident, the Israel Defense Forces reportedly used white phosphorus at close range, injuring 15 UN peacekeepers in the process.

The report details the attack of Oct. 13, in which two Israeli tanks breached the main gate of a UNIFIL base and remained inside for 45 minutes. Shortly after, the IDF fired shells approximately 100 meters north of the base, emitting “suspected white phosphorus smoke,” which injured UNIFIL personnel.

“Despite putting on protective masks, 15 peacekeepers suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions after the smoke entered the camp,” the report said.

Israel denied directly striking the compound and said the IDF was using the smokescreen for cover as it attempted to evacuate soldiers.

Israel had previously demanded the withdrawal of the UNIFIL peacekeepers from 31 of their bases along the Israeli-Lebanese border, as the areas had become “active combat zones.”

The international community has faced criticism for its muted response to Israel’s use of white phosphorus in Lebanon.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the use of white phosphorus in densely populated regions in previous conflicts, but statements from world leaders have yet to directly address the allegations in Lebanon.

For Baydoun, his work on the subject serves as both documentation and advocacy. His research could prove critical, providing an account of Lebanon’s suffering that would otherwise go unseen. But the toll is personal, too.

“I’ve had my share of sleepless nights,” he said. “Emotions run high when attacks happen close to loved ones. You’re working for your country, and it’s hard to stop.”

 


Jordan seizes 2 drug-laden drones on western border

Jordan seizes 2 drug-laden drones on western border
Updated 6 sec ago
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Jordan seizes 2 drug-laden drones on western border

Jordan seizes 2 drug-laden drones on western border
  • Border Guards detected, neutralized both drones within Jordanian territory
  • More than 300 drones have been intercepted this year

LONDON: Jordanian border and anti-narcotics authorities intercepted two drug-laden drones on Tuesday.

The General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces said that the Southern Military Region, in coordination with Military Security and the Anti-Narcotics Department, intercepted the drones along the western border.

Border Guard units detected and neutralized both drones within Jordanian territory, with the seized drugs handed over to the relevant authorities for investigation, it added.

The Jordanian Armed Forces have intercepted 310 drug-laden drones and thwarted multiple smuggling attempts from January to mid-July, seizing more than 14.1 million narcotic pills, 92.1 kg of illegal drugs and more than 10,600 slabs of hashish, with a street value amounting to tens of millions of US dollars.

General Command said that Jordan will combat infiltration and smuggling decisively, quashing any threat to national security.


Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26

Mourners carry the body of one of the victims killed during overnight Israeli bombardment on a camp sheltering displaced people.
Mourners carry the body of one of the victims killed during overnight Israeli bombardment on a camp sheltering displaced people.
Updated 1 min 19 sec ago
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Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26

Mourners carry the body of one of the victims killed during overnight Israeli bombardment on a camp sheltering displaced people.
  • Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said eight people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid near Khan Yunis
  • Six more people were killed, 21 injured by Israeli fire in central Gaza while waiting for food near a distribution center

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said 26 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Tuesday, including 14 who were waiting near an aid distribution site inside the Palestinian territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid near the south Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

Six more people were killed and 21 injured by Israeli fire in central Gaza while waiting for food near a distribution center, according to Bassal.

The Israeli army told AFP it was looking into the incidents.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

Thousands of Gazans gather daily near food distribution points across Gaza, including four belonging to the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations.

Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and aid into Gaza since the start of the war nearly 22 months ago have led to shortages of food and essential goods, including medicine, medical supplies and fuel, which hospitals rely on to power their generators.

Bassal said that five people were killed by a nightly air strike on a tent in Al-Mawasi in south Gaza, an area Israeli authorities designated as a safe zone early on in the war.

“It’s said to be a green zone and it’s safe, but it’s not. They also say that the aid (distribution) is safe, but people die while obtaining aid,” said Adham Younes, who lost a relative in the strike.

“There’s no safety within the Gaza Strip, everyone is exposed to death, everyone is subject to injury,” the 30-year-old told AFP.

Mahmud Younes, another Gazan who said he witnessed the strike, said: ““We found women screaming — they were covered in blood. The entire family has been injured.”

Bassal of the civil defense agency said that six more people were killed in a strike near Gaza City, and one in a strike near the southern city of Khan Yunis.

The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing and the largest armed force in Gaza, said in a statement Tuesday that they had bombarded an Israeli command-and-control center in south Gaza’s Morag Axis, an Israeli-controlled corridor.


Lebanon’s cabinet meets to discuss Hezbollah’s arms after US pressure

Lebanon’s cabinet meets to discuss Hezbollah’s arms after US pressure
Updated 54 min 53 sec ago
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Lebanon’s cabinet meets to discuss Hezbollah’s arms after US pressure

Lebanon’s cabinet meets to discuss Hezbollah’s arms after US pressure
  • The session scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Lebanon’s presidential palace is the first time that cabinet will discuss the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons
  • Pressure from the US and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals for the group to relinquish its arms has spiked following last year’s war with Israel

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss Hezbollah’s arsenal, after Washington ramped up pressure on ministers to publicly commit to disarming the Iran-backed group and amid fears Israel could intensify strikes if they fail to do so.

The session scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) at Lebanon’s presidential palace is the first time that cabinet will discuss the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons — unimaginable when the group was at the zenith of its power just two years ago.

Pressure from the US and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals for the group to relinquish its arms has spiked following last year’s war with Israel, which killed Hezbollah’s top leaders and thousands of fighters and destroyed much of its rocket arsenal.

In June, US envoy Thomas Barrack proposed a roadmap to Lebanese officials to fully disarm Hezbollah, in exchange for Israel halting its strikes on Lebanon and withdrawing its troops from five points they still occupy in southern Lebanon.

That proposal included a condition that Lebanon’s government pass a cabinet decision clearly pledging to disarm Hezbollah.

After Barrack made several trips to Lebanon to urge progress on the plan, Washington’s patience began wearing thin, Reuters reported last week. It pressured Lebanon’s ministers to swiftly make the public pledge so that talks could continue.

But Lebanese officials and diplomats say such an explicit vow could spark communal tensions in Lebanon, where Hezbollah and its arsenal retain significant support among the country’s Shiite Muslim community.

PROPOSED WORDING

On Monday evening, a group of dozens of motorcycles set out from a neighborhood in Beirut’s suburbs where Hezbollah has strong support, carrying the party’s flags.

Hezbollah’s main ally, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, has been in talks with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam ahead of Tuesday’s session to agree on a general phrase to include in a cabinet decision to appease the US and buy Lebanon more time, two Lebanese officials said.

Berri’s proposed wording would commit Lebanon to forming a national defense strategy and maintaining a ceasefire with Israel, but would avoid an explicit pledge to disarm Hezbollah across Lebanon, the officials said.

But other Lebanese ministers plan to propose a formulation that commits Lebanon to a deadline to disarm Hezbollah, said Kamal Shehadi, a minister affiliated with the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party.

“There’s frankly no need to kick the can down the road and postpone a decision. We have to put Lebanon’s interest first and take a decision today,” Shehadi told Reuters.

Lebanese officials and foreign envoys say Lebanese leaders fear that a failure to issue a clear decision on Tuesday could prompt Israel to escalate its strikes, including on Beirut.

A US-brokered ceasefire last November ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.


Thousands in besieged Sudan city at ‘risk of starvation’: WFP

Thousands in besieged Sudan city at ‘risk of starvation’: WFP
Updated 05 August 2025
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Thousands in besieged Sudan city at ‘risk of starvation’: WFP

Thousands in besieged Sudan city at ‘risk of starvation’: WFP
  • “Everyone in El-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” said Perdison of WFP
  • “Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost“

PORT SUDAN: Thousands of families trapped in a besieged city in war-torn Sudan’s west are at “risk of starvation,” the World Food Programme warned on Tuesday.

Since May last year, El-Fasher, the state capital of North Darfur, has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been at war with the army since April 2023.

The RSF has encircled the city, blocking all major roads and trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians with dwindling food supplies and limited humanitarian access.

“Everyone in El-Fasher is facing a daily struggle to survive,” said Eric Perdison, the WFP’s regional director for eastern and southern Africa.

“People’s coping mechanisms have been completely exhausted by over two years of war. Without immediate and sustained access, lives will be lost.”

El-Fasher is the last major city in Darfur still held by the army, and has come under renewed attack by RSF fighters this year since the paramilitaries withdrew from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.

A major RSF assault on the Zamzam displacement camp near El-Fasher in April forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee, with many seeking shelter in the city.

According to the WFP, prices for staple foods like sorghum and wheat — used to make traditional flatbreads and porridge — are as much as 460 percent higher in El-Fasher than in other parts of Sudan.

Markets and clinics have been attacked, while community kitchens that once fed displaced families have largely shut down due to a lack of supplies, the UN agency added.

Desperate families are reportedly surviving on animal fodder and food waste, while acute malnutrition is soaring, especially among children.

According to the UN, nearly 40 percent of children under five in El-Fasher are now acutely malnourished, with 11 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The rainy season, which peaks in August, is further hampering efforts to reach the city, with roads rapidly deteriorating.

Last year, famine was first declared in Zamzam, later spreading to two other nearby camps — Al-Salam and Abu Shouk — and some parts of Sudan’s south, according to the UN.

The war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and created what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.

The country is effectively split in two, with the army controlling the north, east and center of Sudan and the RSF dominating nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.


Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages

Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
Updated 05 August 2025
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Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages

Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
  • “It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza,” Netanyahu said

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday Israel must “complete” the defeat of Hamas to free hostages held in Gaza, a day after Israeli media reported the army could occupy the entire territory.

“It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility.