An in-depth investigation by Al Jazeera has uncovered disturbing evidence that Israeli forces are deploying internationally prohibited thermal and thermobaric weapons in Gaza, resulting in the complete vaporization of thousands of Palestinian bodies. The findings reveal a systematic pattern of destruction that extends beyond conventional warfare tactics.
According to documentation from Gaza’s civil defense teams, over 2,800 cases of Palestinians have been recorded as vanished since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023. The Al Jazeera Arabic programme ‘The Rest of the Story’ reported that these individuals have effectively evaporated, leaving behind only minimal biological traces—fragments of flesh, blood specks on walls, or mere ash.
The scale of destruction in Gaza is unprecedented, with approximately 90% of the territory’s infrastructure reduced to rubble. Israeli combat engineers have methodically demolished countless homes through controlled explosions, while armored bulldozers have systematically leveled entire neighborhoods, including schools, businesses, and medical facilities.
Weapons experts and ground testimonies attribute the phenomenon of human vaporization to Israel’s deployment of US-supplied thermal munitions, commonly referred to as vacuum or aerosol bombs. These weapons generate extreme temperatures exceeding 3,500 degrees Celsius (6,332 degrees Fahrenheit)—far beyond water’s boiling point of 100 degrees Celsius. The intense heat is produced by tritonal, a mixture of TNT and aluminum powder used in American-made bombs.
Civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal explained the meticulous verification process: ‘When a family reports five people were inside a structure, and we recover only three intact bodies, we classify the remaining two as evaporated only after exhaustive searches yield nothing but biological evidence.’
Munir al-Bursh, Director General of Gaza’s Palestinian Ministry of Health, confirmed the scientific plausibility of vaporization, noting that human bodies—composed of 80% water—would inevitably turn to ash when exposed to such extreme temperatures.
The investigation identified specific US-manufactured munitions deployed in Gaza, including the MK-84 ‘Hammer’, BLU-109 bunker buster, and GBU-39 small diameter bomb. Notably, the BLU-109 was reportedly used in an attack on al-Mawasi—an area Israel had previously designated as a ‘safe zone’—resulting in the vaporization of 22 Palestinians in September 2024.
In late November, Hamas called for an international committee to investigate Israel’s use of prohibited weapons, citing horrific testimonies from citizens and doctors in northern Gaza. The Palestinian movement accused Israel’s ‘terrorist occupation army’ of deploying internationally banned munitions that cause bodily vaporization.
The human cost continues to mount, with current figures indicating over 72,037 fatalities and nearly complete destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, creating one of the most severe humanitarian crises in modern conflict.