{"id":828,"date":"2026-02-11T06:18:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T06:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1newsnetwork.com\/?p=828"},"modified":"2026-02-16T07:24:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:24:06","slug":"thousands-of-palestinians-evaporated-by-israeli-weapons-in-gaza-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/thousands-of-palestinians-evaporated-by-israeli-weapons-in-gaza-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Palestinians \u2018evaporated\u2019 by Israeli weapons in Gaza: Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">\u2018We see a continuous flow of weapons (including US-made MK-84 bomb, BLU-109 bunker buster and GBU-39 precision glide bomb) from the United States and Europe. They know these weapons do not distinguish between a fighter and a child, yet they continue to send them,\u2019 says legal expert. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/haber.aa.com.tr\/#\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/haber.aa.com.tr\/#\"><\/a>By Rania Abushamala<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An Al Jazeera special investigation has documented the disappearance of at least 2 842 Palestinians in Gaza since the beginning of Israel\u2019s genocidal war on the enclave, attributing the phenomenon to the use of high-temperature weapons capable of vaporising human tissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The investigation, The Rest of the Story, which aired on Monday, cited data compiled by Gaza\u2019s Civil Defence teams since the start of the war in October 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the investigation, the figure of 2,842 Palestinians classified as having \u201cevaporated\u201d is based on field documentation rather than estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told Al Jazeera that rescue teams rely on a \u201cmethod of elimination\u201d at strike sites, comparing the known number of people inside a targeted building with the remains recovered afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf a family tells us there were five people inside, and we only recover three intact bodies, we classify the remaining two as \u2018evaporated\u2019 after an exhaustive search yields nothing, but biological traces,\u201d Basal said, citing blood spray or small fragments such as scalps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He stressed that classification occurs only after searches of rubble, hospitals and morgues produce no identifiable remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The investigation included testimony from Palestinians who searched for relatives who vanished in Israeli strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yasmin Mahani said she walked through the ruins of al-Tabin school in Gaza City at dawn on August 10, 2024, looking for her son, Saad, after an Israeli attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI went into the mosque and found myself stepping on flesh and blood,\u201d Mahani told Al Jazeera Arabic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yasmin said she searched hospitals and morgues for days, but found no trace of her son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe found nothing of Saad. Not even a body to bury. That was the hardest part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Weapons linked to extreme heat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Military experts interviewed in the investigation attributed the disappearances to Israel\u2019s systematic use of thermobaric and thermal weapons, often referred to as \u201cvacuum\u201d or \u201caerosol\u201d bombs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russian military expert Vasily Fatigarov said such weapons disperse a fuel cloud that ignites into a massive fireball, producing extreme heat and pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo prolong the burning time, powders of aluminum, magnesium and titanium are added to the chemical mixture,\u201d Fatigarov said, adding this raises explosion temperatures to between 2,500 and 3,000 degrees Celsius (4,532 and 5,432F).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The investigation said similar effects are produced by tritonal, a mixture of TNT and aluminum powder used in some US-manufactured bombs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report identified several munitions used in Gaza, including the US-made MK-84 bomb, the BLU-109 bunker buster and the GBU-39 precision glide bomb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the investigation, the GBU-39 was used in the al-Tabin school strike. Fatigarov said the weapon is designed to keep building structures largely intact while destroying everything inside through pressure and thermal waves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basal said Civil Defence teams recovered fragments consistent with GBU-39 components at multiple strike sites where bodies could not be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe GBU-39 is designed to keep the building structure relatively intact while destroying everything inside,\u201d Fatigarov noted. \u201cIt kills via a pressure wave that ruptures lungs and a thermal wave that incinerates soft tissue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The investigation also revealed that the BLU-109 bunker buster was used in an Israeli attack on al-Mawasi, an area Israel had declared a \u201csafe zone\u201d for displaced Palestinians in September 2024, noting that \u201cthis bomb evaporated 22 people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt has a steel casing and a delayed fuse, burying itself before detonating a PBXN-109 explosive mix. This creates a large fireball inside enclosed spaces, incinerating everything within reach,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The probe also mentioned the MK-84 \u201cHammer,\u201d a 900-kilogram (1,984-pound) unguided bomb packed with tritonal that generates up to 3,500C (6,332F) of heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Medical explanation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry, explained the biological impact of such weapons, noting that the human body is composed of roughly 80% water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius,\u201d al-Bursh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen a body is exposed to energy exceeding 3 000 degrees combined with massive pressure and oxidation, the fluids boil instantly. The tissues vaporise and turn to ash. It is chemically inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Legal experts cited in the investigation said the use of weapons incapable of distinguishing between civilians and combatants may constitute war crimes under international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lawyer Diana Buttu, a lecturer at Georgetown University in Qatar, said responsibility may extend beyond Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is a global genocide, not just an Israeli one,\u201d she said, arguing that continued weapons transfers by foreign suppliers indicate complicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe see a continuous flow of these weapons from the United States and Europe. They know these weapons do not distinguish between a fighter and a child, yet they continue to send them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She added that international law prohibits the use of weapons that cannot discriminate between civilians and fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Accountability questioned<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The investigation noted that the findings come despite provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in January 2024 directing Israel to prevent acts of genocide, as well as an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International law professor Tariq Shandab said the international justice system has \u201cfailed the test of Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe blockade on medicine and food is itself a crime against humanity,\u201d he said, adding that universal jurisdiction cases in foreign courts could offer alternative legal avenues if political will exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For families affected, the investigation said, legal definitions offer little comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rafiq Badran, who lost four children in an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp, said he was only able to recover fragments to bury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFour of my children just evaporated,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cI looked for them a million times. Not a piece was left. Where did they go?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><em><br \/>\u2018We see a continuous flow of weapons (<em>including US-made MK-84 bomb, BLU-109 bunker buster and GBU-39 precision glide bomb<\/em><\/em>) <em>from the United States and Europe. They know these weapons do not distinguish between a fighter and a child, yet they continue to send them,\u2019 says legal expert<\/em>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,137,140],"tags":[14,15,16,23,24,19,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conflict-zones","8":"category-editors-picks","9":"category-must-reads","10":"tag-gaza","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-palestine","13":"tag-trump","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-war-crimes","16":"tag-zionist"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":829,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828\/revisions\/829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}