Investigation: Israel uses thermal-thermobarik weapons in Gaza, victims' bodies can disappear!

MK-84 bombs belonging to the United States (US) are one of the US military's aid to Israel during the Gaza aggression. (Wikimedia Commons-USA Air Force)

JAKARTA - At dawn on August 10, 2024, Yasmin Mahani walked slowly through the smoking ruins of the al-Tabin school in Gaza City, looking for her son, Saad. Mahani's husband kept shouting for his son, but there was no trace of Saad.

"I entered the mosque and found myself stepping on flesh and blood," Mahani told Al Jazeera Arabic in an investigation broadcast on Monday local time.

Mahani is not discouraged, searching in hospitals and morgues for days. "We found nothing from Saad. There was not even a body to be buried. That was the hardest part," he added.

Mahani is one of thousands of Palestinians whose loved ones simply disappeared during Israel's Gaza offensive that killed more than 72,000 people.

According to Al Jazeera's Arabic investigation, The Rest of the Story, the Civil Defense team in Gaza has documented 2,842 Palestinians who "disappeared" since the war began in October 2023, leaving no remains other than blood splashes or small pieces of flesh.

Experts and eyewitnesses have linked the phenomenon of the "disappearance" of the people to the impact of the use of thermal and thermobaric weapons by Israel. The weapons, also called vacuum or aerosol bombs, are capable of generating temperatures exceeding 3,500 degrees Celsius [6,332 degrees Fahrenheit] when used. This type of weapon is prohibited by international law.

The US-made F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet, which Israel extensively uses, underwent training to drop four 2,000-pound Mark 84 bombs in Nevada. (US Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons)

Forensic Notes

The number of deaths of 2,842 people who "disappeared" instantly in the Israeli military attack is not an estimate, but the result of the forensic record of the Gaza Civil Defense.

Gaza's Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal explained that the victim's data was collected using "elimination methods" at the site of the attack.

"We entered the house that was the target and matched the number of known residents with the bodies found," Basal said.

"If a family tells us there were five people inside, and we only find three intact bodies, we consider the remaining two bodies to be 'asleep' only after a thorough search produces nothing but biological traces - blood spatter on the wall or small fragments such as a scalp," he added.

Chemistry in Israeli Weapons

The investigation also details specifically how the chemical composition in Israeli munitions turns the human body into ash in seconds.

Russian military expert Vasily Fatigarov explained that thermobaric weapons do not just kill; these weapons destroy matter or something that has mass. Unlike conventional explosives, these weapons spread a cloud of burning fuel to create a very large fireball and a vacuum effect.

"To extend the burning time, aluminum, magnesium, and titanium powder are added to the chemical mixture," said Fatigarov.

"This increases the temperature of the explosion to between 2,500 and 3,000 degrees Celsius [4,532F to 5,432F]," he continued.

According to this investigation, the high temperature is often produced by tritonal, a mixture of TNT and aluminum powder used in US-made bombs such as MK-84.

The director general of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr. Munir al-Bursh, explained the biological impact of extreme heat on the human body, which is made up of about 80 percent water.

"The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius [212F]," al-Bursh said.

"When the body is exposed to energy exceeding 3,000 degrees combined with great pressure and oxidation, the liquid will boil instantly. The tissue will evaporate and turn into ash. Chemically, this is inevitable," he continued.

Israeli Arms Suppliers Involved in Genocide

According to legal experts, the use of this indiscriminate weapon does not only involve Israel, but also its Western suppliers.

"This is a global genocide, not just an Israeli genocide," said lawyer Diana Buttu, a lecturer at Georgetown University in Qatar, speaking at an Al Jazeera Forum in Doha.

Buttu emphasized that the supply chain of the weapons was proof of involvement. "We see a continuous flow of weapons from the United States and Europe. They know these weapons do not distinguish between fighters and children, but they continue to send them," he continued.

Buttu emphasized that under international law, the use of weapons that cannot distinguish between combatants and non-combatants is a war crime.

"The world knows Israel has and uses these prohibited weapons," Buttu said.

"The question is why they are allowed to remain outside the system of accountability," he said.