News Review 13/12/2023

‘Israel’ Used US-Supplied White Phosphorous in Attack on Southern Lebanon

‘Israel’ used US-provided white phosphorous munitions in an attack on southern Lebanon that wounded nine civilians, The Washington Post has reported. White phosphorous can be used by militaries as a smokescreen or as an incendiary chemical weapon that can burn buildings or human skin on contact, in some cases all the way to the bone. A journalist working for the Post found the remnants of three 155mm white phosphorous artillery shells in Dheira, Lebanon, near the border with ‘Israel’. The white phosphorous incinerated at least four homes, and three out of the nine civilians who were injured in the attack had to be hospitalized. The production code on the shells showed that they were produced in the US. It’s unclear if the white phosphorous ammunition was provided to the Jewish entity as part of the billions in annual military aid it receives each year from the US or if it is part of the new weapons shipments the Pentagon has been sending on a near-daily basis since October 7. The ‘Israeli’ military claims it only uses white phosphorous to create smokescreens to protect its troops, but there were no ‘Israeli’ soldiers on the Lebanese side of the border when the incendiary weapon was fired on Dheira. Photos and videos verified by the Post showed white phosphorous falling on Dheira on October 16.

Ukraine Begs for Aid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the US on Monday, 11 Dec, and pleaded for more military aid in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, where he was introduced by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. “Ukrainians haven’t given up and won’t give up. We know what to do and you can count on Ukraine and we hope just as much to be able to count on you,” Zelenskyy said. Despite Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive, Zelenskyy is determined to continue the war even as Ukraine’s top general has said Ukrainian forces have little chance of breaking through Russian defences and Ukraine is facing a manpower shortage. Sources close to Zelenskyy recently told Time Magazine that the Ukrainian leader is deluding himself into thinking Ukraine can win the war. After nearly two years of war the promises the US made of giving full stinting support is wearing thin and war fatigue has set in. With Ukraine facing defeat in its counteroffensive and Russia now on top of the war and with the West busy with Palestine, Ukraine is staring into the abyss.