What is White phosphorus?
{{nosources|date=January 2013}} [[File:Ex-USS Alabama (BB-8) - NH 57483.jpg|thumb|A ship is hit by white phoshporus at a weapons test in 1931]] '''White phosphorus''' is an [[incendiary weapon]]. It makes a bright [[light]] and [[smoke]]. Its main [[ingredient]] is one of the [[allotrope]]s of the [[chemical element]] [[phosphorus]]. White phosphorus is [[toxic]] to [[human]]s. It can burn deep into soft [[Tissue (biological)|tissue]], it can be breathed in, or it can be ingested ([[eat]]en). Over time, these can cause [[death]]. The use of incendiary weapons against civilians is forbidden since 1949. They were used by U.S. forces in Iraq in 2004. White phosphorous was also used for smoke cover by the Israeli Army during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip during the 2008-2009 war between Israel and Hamas. {{military-stub}} [[Category:Incendiary weapons]]