'Bananatrauma' poor substitute for harm of white phosphorous

Shortly after dawn this morning Hezbollah’s elite Yellow Peril Squadron, armed with sling shots and spud guns, launched a daring raid across the Lebanese border breaching Israel’s Iron Dome and dropping water bombs on the banana plantations and groves of citrus fruit along the outskirts of the northern kibbutz of Hanita in western Galilee.

Containing “special” water, believed to originate from Saudi Arabia's Zamzam Well, the bombs discharge a lethal vapour when exposed to banana skin leading to severe cases of "Bananatrauma" in those inhaling it.

A jaundice-like condition, Bananatrauma produces a yellowing of the skin in those affected and a tendency to slip and fall over for no apparent reason even on the safest of surfaces.

Sources suggest BAE Systems has also been experimenting with the toxic cocktail as an alternative to the white phosphorous mortars used in its M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH) that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have been using so effectively to deal death and destruction during their year-long campaign of genocidal ethnic-cleansing in Gaza.

Amnesty International has found evidence M109s have been used by the IDF to fire shells containing white phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon which, Human Rights Watch reports, is forbidden and may amount to a war crime because of its horrific impact.

“Upon contact, white phosphorus can burn people, thermally and chemically, down to the bone as it is highly soluble in fat and therefore in human flesh,” Human Rights Watch notes. “White phosphorus fragments can exacerbate wounds even after treatment and can enter the bloodstream and cause multiple organ failure.

“Already dressed wounds can reignite when dressings are removed and the wounds are re-exposed to oxygen. Even relatively minor burns are often fatal. For survivors, extensive scarring tightens muscle tissue and creates physical disabilities. The trauma of the attack, the painful treatment that follows, and appearance-changing scars lead to psychological harm and social exclusion.”

Not a nice substance at all then and far more lethal than Bananatrauma, which you’ll surely have realised by now is a fictitious condition that the occupiers of Hanita were not subjected to this morning by Hezbollah’s elite Yellow Peril Squadron (which, you must have figured out, also doesn’t exist). Besides BAE Systems does rather nicely out of the sale of self-propelled howitzers and the 155mm shells they fire, far too much to consider sidelining them.

The innocent citizens of Gaza and Lebanon however have most certainly been shelled with white phosphorous mortars, a fact which Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are pretty clear does amount to a war crime.

Looking similar to a tank, an SPH is a missile launcher used on the ground that can fire customised 155mm artillery up to 56 kilometres and I’m ashamed to say this is made in Wales by BAE Systems in Glascoed, a few miles east of Pontypool in Monmouthshire.

BAE Systems proudly explains on its website that it’s at the very heart of the UK munitions industry and has upgraded “the lethality of the latest generation M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH)” by integrating it with the proven Rheinmetall L52 155mm, 52-calibre cannon system.

Way-hay, way to go BAE, optimise its lethality and let the IDF test it out on helpless women and children in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Merging these two highly capable artillery systems, the M109-52 SPH provides the optimal balance between lethality, system maturity, weight and reliability,” the website notes, while also explaining how its “new explosives filling facility, currently being built in South Wales, will deliver an eight-fold increase in manufacturing capacity by 2026” for 155mm artillery ammunition.

BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn proudly points out on the website how products such as the SPH have enabled it to deliver “a strong operational and financial performance in 2023” adding that he’s extremely proud of the way “our people have delivered cutting-edge equipment and services to our customers, working together with partners across our supply chain”.

“Our performance, combined with our global footprint and record order intake, means we’re well-positioned for sustained growth in the coming years,” he states. “We’ll keep driving the business forward, investing in new technologies, facilities and our people. This will help us deliver on our order backlog and help ensure our government customers stay ahead in an uncertain world, whilst delivering increased value to our shareholders and the communities where we operate.”

Fantastic job Charles, no wonder your annual pay cheque rocketed to £13.5 million last year to take your total earnings since becoming BAE chief executive in 2017 to almost £50m... probably buy quite a bit of real estate in “greater Israel” with that once Benjamin Netanyahu’s IDF thugs have finished blowing up Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iran and vast swathes of the Middle East. Who said genocide doesn’t pay? Still wondering why we’re heading down the road to World War III?