Al Jazeera news agency conducted an in-depth investigation revealing that Israel used thermobaric and vacuum bombs, supported by the United States, with temperatures reaching up to 3,500 degrees Celsius, which destroyed victims' bodies by vaporizing them into thin air, leaving no remains. Nearly 3,000 Palestinians have reportedly disappeared in this "vaporized body" manner.
Al Jazeera Arabic's investigative series "The Rest of the Story" detailed the weapons used by the Israeli military in the Gaza war, which has resulted in over 72,000 deaths. Among these, at least 2,842 cases are classified as "vaporized bodies," meaning the victims vanished without any recoverable body parts for burial, except for traces of blood or small tissue fragments.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, stated that the figure of 2,842 is not an estimate but derived from meticulous verification using a "name-cutting" method. For example, if five people were known to be in a house but only three bodies recovered, and detailed searches found only bloodstains on walls or scalp fragments, the missing parts are recorded as "vaporized into thin air."
Weapons experts explained that this phenomenon results from the use of thermobaric or vacuum bombs, which are internationally banned in certain forms. These weapons release a fuel mist that ignites to create a massive fireball and vacuum effect, combining powdered aluminum, magnesium, and titanium to reach temperatures between 2,500 and 3,500 degrees Celsius.
Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Director-General of the Gaza Ministry of Health, explained that the human body contains 80% water; when exposed to heat around 3,000 degrees Celsius along with immense pressure, bodily fluids boil instantly, tissues vaporize, and turn to ash within seconds.
The investigation identified U.S.-manufactured bombs linked to the disappearance of victims' bodies, such as the MK-84 "Hammer," a 900 kg bomb containing Tritonal that heats up to 3,500 degrees Celsius; the BLU-109 "Bunker Buster," used to strike the Al-Mawasi area—which Israel had declared a safe zone—resulting in 22 people vaporizing instantly; and the GBU-39, a precision-guided bomb used to attack Al-Tabin School, designed to destroy everything inside buildings with heat waves and pressure that tear lungs apart and vaporize tissue.
Diana Buttu, a lawyer and professor at Georgetown University, emphasized that this is not merely genocide by Israel alone but constitutes "global genocide," as the U.S. and Europe continue supplying these weapons to Israel, fully aware that they cannot distinguish between combatants and children, making this a war crime under international law.
Despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to prevent genocide and the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attacks continue amid the failure of the global justice system to halt these losses.