On Monday, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, called for the demolition and debris removal operations in Gaza under Israeli military control not to be used as a “means to erase” evidence of crimes.
Albanese said in a statement that “demolition, crushing, and moving debris in Gaza should not destroy evidence of international crimes or prevent the recovery of human remains and the identification of their owners.”
She emphasized, as someone appointed by the Human Rights Council but not speaking on behalf of the UN, that “the debris in Gaza contains human remains and important physical evidence for investigating allegations of international crimes.”
The Israeli attacks on Gaza have resulted in the death of more than 73,000 Palestinians and injuries to 174,000 others since October 2023, according to data released by the Gaza Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable.
She noted that more than 10,000 people are believed to still be buried under the rubble, while “about 70% of Gaza’s area is under access restrictions and varying degrees of Israeli military control.”
