Ihab Keheal, head of the justice department’s medical examiner’s office in the Gaza Strip, has stated that examinations conducted by his office have unveiled evidence indicating that the Israeli army used white phosphorous and other internationally prohibited weapons in its latest operation in Gaza. Making his comments in a press statement released Monday, Keheal said that the bodies of Palestinians killed in the latest escalations were torn apart and charred to the extent that they were barely recognizable. Keheal added that his office was conducting delicate tests to discover the instruments used by the occupation army in its operations on civilians, including weapons and chemical munitions forbidden under international law. The Palestinian Ministry of Justice, according to Keheal, is in contact with committees responsible for documenting war crimes as well as Palestinian and international rights organizations. He hopes the reports issued by his office could be used to try the Israeli occupation for its crimes in an international court of justice. In this way, expalined Keheal, it is of the utmost importance that the world is aware that the occupation forces persist in using internationally forbidden weaponry against Palestinian civilians. He called on the world to take responsibility and protect civilians especially in light of Israel’s renewed threats of launching military operations on the Gaza Strip. In the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, which claimed the lives of 1,400 Palestinians, most of which were civilians, Israel admitted using white phosphorous against civilian targets in the strip.