Investigation links high-temperature weapons to disappearance of thousands in Gaza

A special investigation by Al Jazeera has documented the disappearance of at least 2,842 Palestinians in Gaza since the beginning of Israel’s military campaign, attributing the phenomenon to the use of high-temperature weapons capable of vaporizing human bodies. The report, aired Monday, cited field documentation collected by Gaza’s Civil Defense teams since the war began in October 2023.

Methodical Documentation of the "Evaporated"

Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal explained that rescue teams use a “method of elimination” at strike sites, comparing the known number of people inside a targeted building with the remains recovered. “If a family tells us there were five people inside, and we only recover three intact bodies, we only classify the remaining two as ‘evaporated’ after an exhaustive search yields nothing but biological traces,” Basal told Al Jazeera. The classification is made only after searches of rubble, hospitals, and morgues produce no identifiable remains.

Thermobaric and Thermal Weapons Cited

Military experts interviewed in the investigation attributed the disappearances to Israel’s systematic use of thermobaric and thermal weapons, often called “vacuum” or “aerosol” bombs. Russian military expert Vasily Fatigarov stated such weapons disperse a fuel cloud that ignites into a massive fireball, reaching temperatures between 2,500 and 3,000 degrees Celsius—hot enough to vaporize human tissue, which is largely composed of water. The report also identified specific U.S.-made munitions used in Gaza, including the GBU-39 precision glide bomb, the BLU-109 bunker buster, and the MK-84 bomb, which can generate heat exceeding 3,000°C.

Families Search Without Closure

The investigation featured testimonies from Palestinians who searched in vain for relatives. Yasmin Mahani described walking through the ruins of al-Tabin school in Gaza City at dawn after an Israeli attack, stepping on “flesh and blood” while looking for her son Saad. After checking hospitals and morgues for days, she found no trace of him. “We found nothing of Saad. Not even a body to bury. That was the hardest part,” she said. Rafiq Badran, who lost four children in a strike on Bureij refugee camp, asked, “Where did they go?”

Legal Implications and Allegations of Complicity

Legal experts in the report argued that the use of weapons incapable of distinguishing between civilians and combatants may constitute war crimes. Lawyer Diana Buttu, a lecturer at Georgetown University in Qatar, asserted that responsibility may extend beyond Israel to arms suppliers. “This is a global genocide, not just an Israeli one,” she said, pointing to continued weapons transfers from the United States and Europe. The findings come despite provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice and an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.