Appendices

HRW letter to the IDF

Brig.-Gen. Avi Benayahu

IDF Spokesperson Unit

International Organization Desk

Phone: 03 569 1842

Fax: 03 569 3971

February 1, 2009

Dear General Benayahu,

We would very much appreciate it if your office could provide us with responses to the questions listed below, which relate to the IDF's use of white phosphorus (WP) during "Operation Cast Lead." We would appreciate it if you could provide us with a reply by February 15, 2009.

General questions:

1. What is the policy of the IDF with regard to the use of WP in military operations?

1. What is the IDF's policy and practice regarding the use of WP in populated areas?

1. For what purposes did the IDF use WP in the course of "Operation Cast Lead"? Did the IDF use WP as an obscurant? Did the IDF consider the use of alternatives to WP for obscurant purposes, such as 155mm smoke projectiles?

1. Did the IDF use WP for its incendiary effects?

1. Some Israeli officials have publicly indicated that the IDF was using a substance other than WP but with similar properties and effects. Can you please clarify?

1. IDF officials have stated that it will conduct an investigation into the use of WP during "Operation Cast Lead." Which individual or office will conduct this investigation and what are the terms of the investigation? Will the investigation's findings be made public?

Incident questions:

1.On the afternoon of January 4, the IDF launched artillery strikes on and around the village of Sifaya, in an agricultural area northwest of Beit Lahiya. Fourteen members of the Abu Halima family had gathered in their house, one house in from the open fields [31.56306N/03448942E]. At around 4 p.m., an artillery shell landed directly on the Abu Halima house, detonating inside the house and dispersing what our field inquiry has determined were white phosphorus wedges into various rooms, killing five persons and badly wounding four others. Was WP used in the Sifaya attack and for what purpose?

2.Beginning on the evening of January 10, the IDF launched several attacks on the village of Khuza'a, east of Khan Yunis. On at least two occasions, on January 10 and January 13, the IDF allegedly fired WP shells for extended periods in populated areas, especially on January 13, causing fires in homes and civilian casualties. Residents said no Palestinian armed groups were fighting at the time from the area. In one house [31.30582N/034.35833E] an IDF artillery shell that our field inquiry determined contained WP penetrated the roof, killing Hana al-Najjar and wounding several of her children. In the immediate area Human Rights Watch also found other artillery shells with markings indicating that they contained WP inside a multi-story house next to a mosque [31.30916N/034.36479E], and shells or canisters so marked in or near houses at these GPS coordinates: [31.30927N/034.36466E; 31.30968N/034.36353E; 31.30976N/034.36367E, 31.30580N/034.35873E]. Was WP used in Khuza'a on January 10 or 13 and, if so, for what purpose in the attacks on Khuza'a?

3.The IDF allegedly launched high-explosive and WP artillery shells on the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City on the morning of January 15 for about three hours, and in the afternoon and evening of January 16 over a period of about eight hours. Human Rights Watch found two light-green 155mm artillery shells used to deliver WP in the apartment of Fathi Sabbah, a journalist with Al-Hayat newspaper [31.51243N/034.45655E]. Human Rights Watch also examined the remains of an automobile nearby [31.50971/034.43843E] that appeared to have been struck by a shell containing WP, killing Uday al-Haddad, his wife, son, and daughter, and badly wounding another son. Was WP used and for what purpose in the attacks in Tel al-Hawa?

4.On January 15, an alleged air-burst WP ignited a blaze that gutted the top two floors of the main building of al-Quds Hospital, in the midst of a densely populated neighborhood of Garden City. The hospital was clearly marked as such. Israeli armor was operating in the area at the time but, according to hospital personnel andlocal residents, no Palestinian fighters were in the area at that time. The attack forced the evacuation of some 47 patients, including four who were in intensive care, as well as some 500 neighborhood residents who had sought shelter there from the fighting. Was WP used and for what purpose in the neighborhood of al-Quds Hospital?

5.The UNRWA headquarters compound covers about four hectares in the Gaza City neighborhood of Rimal. On the morning of January 15 the compound took direct IDF artillery hits, including what UNRWA officials described as WP. Human Rights Watch examined photos of the shells UNRWA staff had collected following the attack, which bore clear markings consistent with shells containing WP. The resulting blazes gutted four buildings including a vehicle workshop and two large warehouses containing medical and other humanitarian supplies. UNRWA officials say that five senior UNRWA staff madedozens of calls during the attack to the IDF, including the following officers: Maj. Aviad Silberman, Uri Singer, and Brig-Gen (ret) Baruch Spiegel. UNRWA officials have denied assertions by IDF spokespersons that Palestinian fighters were operating inside the compound. What was the purpose for the IDF attack on the UNRWA compound? Was WP used and for what purpose?

6.On the early morning of January 17, the IDF allegedlyfired multiple WP shells at an UNRWA elementary boys and girls school on the northeastern edge of Beit Lahiya. Human Rights Watch later observed remnants of the shells inthe school compound, as well as apparent WP wedges buried in the sand, which reignited when exposed to air.  At the time of the attack the school housed over 1,900 persons seeking refuge from the fighting. To the knowledge of Human Rights Watch, no IDF units or Palestinian armed groups were operating in the area at the time. The shelling killed two young brothers, ages 4 and 5, and severely wounded their mother. UNRWA officials have publicly said that they had transmitted the GPS of this school, as well as all other UNRWA structures to the IDF. Several eyewitnesses identified the shelling as coming from IDF positions to thesoutheast, near Jabaliya, about a kilometer away. IDF units were also positioned at the time in the al-`Atara area, about four kilometers to the north. What was the purpose for the IDF shelling of the UNRWA school at Beit Lahiya? Was WP used and for what purpose?

Thank you for your attention to this request. We would appreciate it very much if you could respond by February 15.

Sincerely,

Joe Stork

Deputy Director

Middle East and North Africa division

IDF response to HRW