Yes, the IDF has made military use of white phosphorus during the defensive action against Hamas in Gaza in January 2010. The images broadcast in a loop in the newscasts of the time have been widely reported. However, the Israeli army has violated any law or international convention.
The ancients gave Venus two names, thinking, as the night time, dusk or dawn, having to do two different stars, in his appearance, called Hespherus Venus, the morning of Phosphorus. The sense therefore means: one who shines in the daylight.
Its weight-efficiency is a material ideally suited for use in mortar shells or rockets. It was used as an offensive weapon (the destruction of enemy troops and incendiary attacks), international conventions allow its use today as part illuminating, smoke and destruction of enemy equipment. Its psychological effect is also sought as weakening its visual confuses the enemy.
It was first used, diluted in carbon disulfide in the nineteenth century by Irish nationalists, under the name Fenian fire. The British and the Americans made use of them in 1916 during the WW1. During WW2, its use by all warring parties intensified, as an incendiary weapon designed to destroy enemy positions, or even strategic bombing against civilians during the Battle of Germany.
It is also the base for the manufacture of phosphoric acid used to acidify and thus increase the mouthfeel of all colas and sodas in the world. It is increasingly used for the manufacture of medicines containing phosphoric acid and calcium intended to fight against bone loss and osteoporosis. It is extensively used in industry to manufacture chemical fertilizer phosphorus.