Germany’s conglomerate Bayer linked to Israel's use of chemical weapons in Lebanon

Germany’s pharmaceutical and chemical giant Bayer has been accused of supplying white phosphorus and glyphosate used by the Israeli military in its offensive in Lebanon, a report says, raising fresh questions about the supply chain behind banned weapons used in the aggression.

A joint investigation by Germany's Coordination gegen Bayer-Gefahren (CBG) and Medico International suggested that Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, is linked to the supply chain of glyphosate and white phosphorus used by the Israeli military in Lebanon.

“There is strong evidence that phosphorus used in the Middle East war comes from Bayer's glyphosate production facility in Soda Springs in the United States,” CBG representative Jan Pehrke said.

Although Bayer's board during an April 2026 meeting denied directly supplying glyphosate to the Israeli or US military, it did not deny providing raw materials used in white phosphorus production.

The report - titled “Cartographies of Destruction: Israel's War Against Lebanon” - says Israeli forces expanded a military doctrine first “tested” in the besieged Gaza Strip in 2014 by using glyphosate as a weapon in Lebanon, despite a 2013 Israeli so-called commitment to phase out white phosphorus in populated areas.

Lebanon's Agriculture Ministry found glyphosate concentrations 20 to 30 times above normal levels in affected soil samples, while the army chief described the contamination as an “environmental and health” crime.

The findings come after the United States designated elemental phosphorus a material critical to its national security.

Human rights organizations have documented Israel's extensive use of white phosphorus, including its deployment in Gaza after Israel launched its genocidal war following October 7, 2023. Human Rights Watch verified its use in at least 17 Lebanese municipalities since October 2023.

Independent researchers also recorded more than 200 incidents that triggered around 600 fires. In the southern Lebanese town of Dhayra, residents and medical workers reported respiratory injuries among nine civilians after exposure to the munition's distinctive “garlic-like” smoke.

Israel targets southern Lebanon with internationally banned phosphorus shells

Israeli army use banned phosphorus shells against civilian targets in southern Lebanon.

In April 2026, Lebanon's Environment Ministry slammed Israel for committing “an act of ecocide,” estimating environmental losses at $25 billion after thousands of hectares of forest were destroyed and severe soil contamination “reshaped both the physical and ecological landscape” of southern Lebanon.

The findings are reinforced by a New York Times investigation published on June 6, which documented repeated Israeli use of white phosphorus over populated areas including Tyre, Nabatieh, Qlayaa, Khiam and Yohmor.

Verified footage identified US-made M825A1 artillery shells that disperse 116 burning felt wedges, capable of igniting fires across a 250-meter radius, with flames often spreading even farther as the burning material is carried by the wind.

Iran urges Germany to probe wartime supply of chemical weapons to Iraq

Iran has called for full accountability for the use of chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War, urging Germany to investigate and reveal the truth about its role in arming Iraq with the destructive weapons.

Germany was among the Western countries that supported Iraq's chemical weapons program during the 1980–88 Iraq war against Iran, with German companies playing a particularly significant and well-documented role in supplying Saddam Hussein's regime with the technology, equipment and materials needed to produce chemical weapons.

Those weapons were repeatedly used against Iranian troops and civilians in hundreds of attacks, despite international prohibitions on chemical warfare.

Iraq carried out more than 500 chemical attacks against Iran, using mustard gas, nerve agents and choking agents that killed at least 10,000 people and injured more than 107,000 others, including women and children.

One of the deadliest attacks took place in the northwestern Iranian city of Sardasht in June 1987, where Iraqi forces dropped mustard gas bombs on civilians, killing at least 119 people and injuring around 8,000. Many survivors continue to suffer from chronic health complications decades later.

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