The Phospherous beat-up
ISRAEL is believed to have used controversial white phosphorus shells to screen its assault on the heavily populated Gaza Strip yesterday.
The weapon, used by British and US forces in Iraq, can cause horrific burns but is not illegal if used as a smokescreen.Which is what it is used for. Armies have plenty of ammo types to take the fight out of the enemy and have no logistical or tactical reason to use white phospherous (Willie Pete) as a weapon; but a journalist once discovered that if someone comes into contact with WP then it burns right though to the bone. Hence, every time a western power goes to war we have this phosperous beat-up. Signal flares would have the same effect but apparently flares are not as ideologically unsound. It always amuses me that while armies kill and dissect each others troops with high explosive artillery, the moment they use WP as a smokescreen it gets a whole article in the local press. Weird.
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Bad news:
Friendly Fire Incident
Three IDF soldiers were killed, one was critically wounded, three were severely wounded and 20 soldiers were lightly to moderately wounded as a result of an IDF tank shell explosion fired in error during an operation in the northern Gaza Strip. The shell hit a structure where the soldiers were located.
The families of the fallen and injured soldiers have been notified.
The incident occurred during an intensive battle waged by Golani Brigade soldiers against Hamas.
In the hours following the incident other scenarios were taken into consideration as the cause, including that the explosion was caused by an enemy anti-tank missile or that the structure was rigged with explosives, but these were later ruled out.
The injured soldiers received initial medical treatment in the field before being evacuated by helicopters and vehicles to hospitals in Israel. Heavy IDF artillery fire provided cover for the evacuation.
Golani Brigade commander, Colonel Avi Peled, sustained light injuries in the incident. Col. Peled oversaw the evacuation in the field and directed the artillery and aerial cover via communication systems. Only after all those injured were evacuated did the brigade commander seek medical attention for himself.