JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army dropped phosphorous bombs against Hezbollah guerrilla targets in Lebanon during a war there this summer, an Israeli official said Sunday, confirming Lebanese allegations for the first time.
Until now, Israel had said it only used the weapons — which cause severe chemical burns — to mark targets or territory, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
But last week, Cabinet minister Jacob Edery confirmed during a parliamentary query session that Israel had used the weapons during August fighting against Hezbollah, his spokeswoman, Orly Yehezkel, said. Edery was speaking on behalf of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, she said.
"The Israeli army holds phosphorous munitions in different forms," Haaretz quoted Edery as saying. "The Israeli army made use of phosphorous shells during the war against Hezbollah in attacks against military targets in open ground."
Edery did not specify where or against what types of targets the phosphorous bombs were used.
Edery said international law does not ban the use of such weapons. However, many international human rights groups, including the Red Cross, have pushed to ban phosphorous weapons.
During the war, the Lebanese government accused Israel of dropping phosphorous bombs.
Israel's defense minister said Sunday that air force flights over Lebanon would continue because arms smuggling to Lebanese guerrillas has not stopped.
Amir Peretz, in remarks at Israel's weekly Cabinet meeting, accused the Lebanese government of failing to carry out its obligations under a U.N. cease-fire to keep weapons from reaching Hezbollah.
"As long as the resolution isn't implemented, there is no other choice," he said, referring to the U.N. resolution that ended Israel's month-long summer war with Hezbollah.
Peretz spoke after the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon termed the overflights a clear violation of the U.N. cease-fire resolution.
He accused the Lebanese government of failing to prevent Hezbollah from receiving arms from its Syrian and Iranian backers.
"The accumulating intelligence in our hands points to a rising effort to transfer arms," and so "the legitimacy for overflights increases," Peretz said.
The Aug. 14 cease-fire calls on both sides to respect the U.N. boundary drawn in 2000 after Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon.
Israel says it has no choice but to conduct flights across that line because arms continue to flow to Hezbollah and because of the guerrilla group's continued armed presence in southern Lebanon. Under the resolution, the region must become a weapons-free zone.
Up to 15,000 Lebanese army troops and an equal number of U.N. troops have been assigned to patrol southern Lebanon. Last week, Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, leader of the U.N. peacekeeping force, criticized Israel for sending its jets over the area.
Peretz said the U.N. force was "designed to operate against Hezbollah, not Israel
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