One of the most haunting visuals associated with modern warfare is the image known as the “Napalm Girl,” captured during the Vietnam War. The photograph shows terrified children fleeing a napalm strike, with nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc running unclothed after her clothes were burned away. The image became a global symbol of the devastating human cost of incendiary weapons and remains a powerful reminder of why certain weapons are now restricted or banned under international humanitarian law. Napalm itself is among the weapons whose use is heavily regulated in armed conflict.
The issue resurfaced after Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions over residential areas in southern Lebanon. Like napalm, white phosphorus can cause extreme burns and uncontrollable fires. While not completely banned, international law prohibits its use as an incendiary weapon in civilian-populated areas because of the severe and indiscriminate harm it can cause. Similar allegations have previously been documented by rights groups in conflict zones including southern Lebanon and Gaza.
White phosphorus has been used in warfare since the early twentieth century and is commonly deployed for smoke screens, illumination and signalling. However, its incendiary properties make it especially dangerous in populated regions. When exposed to air, the substance ignites spontaneously and can burn through skin and tissue down to the bone. International conventions therefore restrict its deployment in or near civilian areas due to the high risk of life-threatening injuries and fires that are difficult to control.
White phosphorus is only one among several weapons whose use is restricted or prohibited because of the extreme suffering they inflict and the long-term risks they pose to civilian populations. Chemical weapons are among the most comprehensively banned. These weapons rely on toxic chemicals to kill or incapacitate people and include nerve agents such as sarin and VX, blister agents like mustard gas, and choking agents such as chlorine. After causing massive casualties in World War I and later conflicts, their production, stockpiling and use were outlawed under the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, which also mandates the destruction of existing arsenals.
Napalm, a gelled fuel mixture designed to stick to surfaces and burn intensely, became infamous during World War II and later conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. Although not universally prohibited in all contexts, international rules ban its use against civilian targets and in areas close to civilian populations because of its indiscriminate and prolonged burning effects. Its legacy continues to shape global debates about incendiary weapons.
Cluster munitions are another widely condemned category. These weapons disperse numerous smaller explosive submunitions over a large area, many of which fail to detonate immediately. Unexploded bomblets can remain lethal for years, injuring civilians long after hostilities end. The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits their use, production and transfer due to their persistent danger to non-combatants.
Anti-personnel landmines are explosives triggered by human contact, often designed to maim rather than kill. Because they remain buried and active long after wars conclude, they pose enduring risks to civilians. The 1997 Ottawa Treaty bans their production and use, recognising the humanitarian crisis caused by lingering minefields across former conflict zones.
Expanding bullets, also known as dum-dum bullets, are designed to widen on impact, causing severe internal injuries. Their use in warfare was banned under the Hague Convention of 1899 due to the unnecessary suffering they inflict on combatants, although they remain legal in certain non-military contexts such as hunting and law enforcement.
Biological weapons involve the deliberate use of pathogens or toxins to cause disease and death in humans, animals or crops. The global community moved to prohibit them through the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, which bans their development, production, stockpiling and use. The treaty reflects widespread recognition that disease-based warfare poses uncontrollable and catastrophic humanitarian risks.
Blinding laser weapons, designed specifically to cause permanent vision loss, are also prohibited. Protocol IV of the 1995 United Nations agreement on blinding laser weapons bans systems intended to cause irreversible blindness, even though other military laser technologies remain lawful for uses such as targeting and defence.
Non-detectable fragmentation weapons, which disperse fragments made from materials difficult to identify through medical imaging, are banned because they complicate treatment and increase suffering. International humanitarian law prohibits weapons designed to injure through fragments that cannot be detected by standard medical equipment.
Booby traps are explosive devices triggered by disturbance and are subject to strict regulation. International law forbids disguising them as everyday civilian objects such as toys, food, medical supplies or household items, as such practices endanger civilians and violate the principles of distinction and proportionality in warfare.
Before international restrictions were introduced, weapons of these kinds caused widespread death and suffering among both soldiers and civilians. In some cases, such as landmines and unexploded cluster munitions, the danger continues decades after conflicts end. Efforts to ban or regulate these weapons aim to reduce unnecessary suffering and limit harm to civilian populations, even though war itself remains inherently destructive.
