Al Jazeera aired a controversial report in its Arabic program “The Rest of the Story” on February 10, 2026, accusing Israel of using chemical weapons in the Gaza Strip.
SNPNEWS.IN News (Gurmail Kamboj): On October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian groups launched a surprise attack on Israel (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood), during which approximately 1,200 Israeli and foreign civilians were killed, and 251 were taken hostage by Hamas. In response, Israel began large-scale bombing and ground operations in the Gaza Strip on October 7, isolating Gaza from the world.
During Israel’s attacks, more than 70,000 Palestinians were killed, and thousands more were reported missing. In October 2025, a ceasefire agreement was reached, under which Hamas released the remaining hostages, and Israel partially withdrew from Gaza.
During this war, several international organizations have issued detailed reports accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinian civilians. Similarly, a report was broadcast on Al Jazeera Arabic’s program “The Rest of the Story” on February 10, 2026. The main focus of the report is Israel’s use of thermal and thermobaric weapons supplied by the United States in Gaza, which generate heat up to 3,500 degrees Celsius, “vaporizing” or turning nearly 3,000 Palestinians into “steam” or causing them to disappear. This report is based on data from Gaza’s Civil Defense teams, witness testimonies, and expert opinions.
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The report begins with the story of Yasmin Mahani, who, after an attack on al-Tabin school on August 10, 2024, was searching for her son Saad. She found her husband screaming, but there was no trace of Saad. She said, “I went into the mosque and felt flesh and blood under my feet.” She searched hospitals and morgues but found nothing. This report also highlights Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, in which more than 72,000 people have been killed.
Mahani is one of thousands of Palestinians whose loved ones have disappeared in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 people. According to Al Jazeera Arabic’s investigation “The Rest of the Story,” Gaza’s Civil Defense teams have recorded 2,842 Palestinians as “vaporized” from October 2023 onward, with no remains found except blood splatters or small pieces of flesh. Experts and witnesses have linked this to Israel’s use of internationally prohibited thermal and thermobaric weapons, which generate temperatures exceeding 3,500 degrees Celsius.
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Explaining the forensic accounting conducted by Gaza’s Civil Defense, spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told Al Jazeera that teams use an “elimination method” at attack sites. “We enter the targeted house and match the number of residents with the recovered bodies,” Basal said. “If a family says there were five people inside and we only recover three complete bodies, the remaining two are considered ‘vaporized’ if nothing is found except blood or small fragments.” According to investigators, this intense heat is often produced by tritonal, a mixture of TNT and aluminum powder, associated with American bombs such as MK-84, BLU-109, and GBU-39. This is being viewed as a war crime, though some sources have dismissed it as false or exaggerated.
Palestinian Ministry of Health Director General Dr. Munir al-Bursh explained the biological effects of such heat on the human body, which is composed of about 80 percent water. “The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius,” al-Bursh said. “When the body comes into contact with over 3,000 degrees of energy, massive pressure, and oxidation, the fluids immediately boil. The tissues vaporize and turn to ash. This is chemically inevitable.”
Legal experts stated that the use of chemical weapons implicates not only Israel but also its Western suppliers in crimes. “This is a global genocide, not just Israeli,” said legal advocate Diana Buttu, a lecturer at Georgetown University in Qatar. Speaking at the Al Jazeera Forum, Buttu said there is evidence of supply chain complicity. “We see a continuous flow of these weapons from the United States and Europe. They know these weapons do not distinguish between combatants and children, yet they continue to send them.”
Buttu emphasized that under international law, the use of such weapons that do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants constitutes a war crime. “The world knows Israel possesses these prohibited weapons and uses them. The question is why they remain outside the accountability system.”
Previously, the International Court of Justice issued provisional orders in 2024 against Israel and called for halting the massacre. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2024, but the massacre continued even after that decision.
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International law professor Tarek Shanab said the international justice system has “failed the test in Gaza.” “After the October ceasefire, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed,” Shanab said. He emphasized that the war is being continued through siege, starvation, and attacks. “Siege on medicine and food is a crime against humanity.” Shanab pointed to the U.S. veto in the UN Security Council as giving Israel “impunity.” However, he described courts with universal jurisdiction in countries like Germany and France as options for justice if there is political will.
Rafiq Badran, who lost his four children in the Bureij refugee camp, said these technical terms mean nothing to him. He only found small pieces of his children’s bodies. “My four children just vaporized,” Badran said, holding back tears. “I searched for them a million times. Not even one piece remained. Where did they go? I don’t know.”
UN Commission of Inquiry (September 2025): The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry stated in its report that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. It includes all four acts of genocide: killing, causing serious bodily/mental harm, creating conditions to destroy life, and measures to prevent births. This includes ceasefire violations, destruction of health and education systems, targeting children, and ignoring ICJ orders. The report is based on investigations from October 7, 2023, to July 2025.
Amnesty International (2025 Report): Israel committed genocide in Gaza, with the highest deaths among women, children, and health workers. Similarly, Hamas’s October 7 attack also involved war crimes and crimes against humanity (killing, rape, hostage-taking).
Human Rights Watch (World Report 2026, February 2026): In 2025, Israel escalated war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. In Gaza, more than 69,000 deaths (including 19,000 children), use of starvation as a weapon, shooting at aid lines (thousands of deaths), displacement of over 1.2 million people, and destruction of infrastructure. All this is described as war crimes and genocide.