The Al Jazeera Gaza weapons investigation has raised serious allegations about the type of weapons used during Israeli military operations in Gaza. The report asserts that forces deployed internationally banned thermal and thermobaric weapons, resulting in extreme destruction and the disappearance of thousands.
The investigation aired on Al Jazeera’s Arabic programme The Rest of the Story. It cites documentation from Gaza’s civil defence teams, which reported more than 2,800 cases since October 2023 where people appeared to vanish during air strikes. In many cases, rescuers said they found no intact bodies at the sites.
According to the report, recovery teams often discovered only fragments of flesh, traces of blood, or ash. These findings, investigators argue, cannot be fully explained by conventional explosives alone.
Experts and testimonies featured in the programme suggest that the scale and nature of the destruction point toward the use of thermal and thermobaric weapons. These weapons, also known as vacuum or aerosol bombs, can generate extreme heat and pressure.
An Al Jazeera Arabic Investigation reveals how Israel’s systematic use of internationally prohibited thermal and thermobaric weapons supplied by the US has left no trace of nearly 3,000 Palestinians it killed during its genocidal war on Gaza.
Read more: https://t.co/m8AfIkPHYv pic.twitter.com/M54WDyjvzf
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 10, 2026Al Jazeera Gaza Weapons Investigation
The Al Jazeera Gaza weapons investigation states that thermobaric weapons can generate temperatures exceeding 3,500 degrees Celsius. Such heat far surpasses the threshold required to destroy organic material. For comparison, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
The report notes that tritonal, a mixture of TNT and aluminium powder commonly used in certain US-manufactured bombs, accounts for much of the heat produced by these weapons. Investigators argue this composition explains the intense thermal impact observed at strike sites.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence, described how teams assess missing persons. He said rescuers compare the number of residents believed to be inside a building with the number of bodies recovered after an attack.
Read: Pakistan Joins Gaza Board of Peace Meeting on Feb 19
“If a family tells us there were five people inside and we recover only three intact bodies, we classify the other two as ‘evaporated’ after a thorough search,” Basal said. He added that searches often reveal only biological traces, such as blood sprayed on walls or small fragments of flesh.
The investigation also includes comments from Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry. He said the phenomenon described by rescue teams is scientifically possible under extreme conditions.
“When a human body is exposed to extremely high temperatures, it can vaporise and turn to ash,” al-Bursh explained. He noted that such outcomes align with the effects associated with thermal weapons.
The report stresses that these findings are based on field observations, expert analysis, and testimonies from local officials. It frames the allegations as part of a broader examination of the conflict’s humanitarian impact.
The investigation has intensified debate over the conduct of the war in Gaza and the weapons used. It also adds to ongoing international scrutiny and calls for independent assessments of military actions and their consequences for civilians.
