As Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip continue after the attacks and kidnappings carried out by Hamas militants over the weekend, Chinese state-run media has spread the unverified rumor that Israeli forces are using white phosphorus bombs against civilians in a manner that contravenes international law.
More than 1,600 combined Israelis and Palestinians have reportedly been killed since Hamas launched attacks on Saturday, according to the Associated Press, and hundreds of others have been injured. Israel has been conducting airstrikes on the sealed-off and densely populated Gaza Strip after the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in its history. Hamas, which is funded and armed by Iran, is sworn to Israel's destruction.
A post by the China Internet Information Center web portal, run by Beijing's propaganda office, surfaced Tuesday accusing Israel of deploying phosphorus munitions in densely populated parts of Gaza. The post repeated the claims of media such as the Tasnim News Agency, which is associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and included photos allegedly showing phosphorus showering down upon Gaza rooftops.
A user on X, formerly Twitter, said that two photos were from Israeli actions against Hamas two and seven years ago.
Newsweek confirmed that the other two images were not captured in Gaza but in Syria. One is an Agence France-Presse file photo taken in Damascus in 2018, and one is from a video of an apparent phosphorus attack in Aleppo in 2016.
The Chinese internet is known for its fast-acting, hypervigilant censors when it comes to topics the Chinese Communist Party deems sensitive, often deleting offending posts within minutes. However, disinformation that supports the party line is often left alone or even actively promoted.
Anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric has become prevalent on China's insular social media in recent years, in part because of Israel's close association with the U.S. and the West. U.S. officials have complained that China has not gone for enough to condemn Hamas for launching its latest attacks.
Though the post has since been taken down from the China Internet Center page, the damage is done for the "hundreds of thousands of Chinese netizens who'd seen it," tweeted Tuvia Gering, a researcher at the Tel Aviv University-affiliated Institute for National Security Studies.
The post remains elsewhere on the Chinese social media app Weibo, including on the account of the nationalist Guancha news outlet, which boasts roughly 2.5 million followers.
Though mainly used to obscure the positions of friendly forces, white phosphorus is hazardous to the human body, causing burns, intense pain, blistering, and even organ damage and death if exposed to a substantial amount.
A U.N. protocol on the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons prohibits the use of phosphorus and other corrosive chemicals in highly populated civilian areas.
The Israeli authorities previously admitted to using white phosphorus munitions against Hezbollah in 2006 and in the 22-day offensive against Hamas in Gaza that started in December 2008. They denied using it in civilian areas.
Though the country is not a signatory to the U.N. protocol, the Israel Defense Forces has said it has taken steps to avoid future phosphorus-related civilian casualties.
The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, with more than 15,000 people per square mile.
Newsweek reached out to the Israeli Ministry of Defense for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
