Recovery
of Remains in Gaza Renews Fears of War Crimes

Geneva,
15 Sep 2026 (ONA) — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk
announced today that the retrieval of hundreds of bodies from beneath the
rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes on Gaza during the war that
erupted nearly three years ago has reignited fears that war crimes may have
been committed there.

He
added that the remains of what appear to be entire families are being recovered
from sites destroyed by Israeli attacks, and that many of the dead are women
and children.

He
noted that the discovery of further remains has revived concerns raised in a
United Nations report issued in 2024, which concluded that Israeli strikes on
residential buildings and other civilian sites during the first weeks of the
war may have violated international humanitarian law.

The
Israeli offensive on the Strip, which began in October 2023, generated the
accumulation of some 61 million tonnes of rubble and debris, which the United
Nations says could take seven years to clear.

A
ceasefire in October 2025 ended the widespread fighting but failed to halt
repeated Israeli strikes. Palestinian Civil Defence said that the bodies and
remains of more than 630 people had been recovered from beneath destroyed
buildings in Gaza since November 2025. Palestinian authorities estimate that
more than eight thousand people remain trapped beneath the rubble.

Türk
expressed concern that the remains recovered so far may be “only the tip
of the iceberg,” noting that large parts of Gaza were completely destroyed
in the Israeli bombardment or in the demolition and clearing operations that
followed.

He
also accused Israel of continuing to destroy some areas of Gaza where its
forces remain deployed, saying that bulldozers are operating “with no
respect for the dead beneath the rubble.”

Health
authorities in the Strip said that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been
killed in the military campaign Israel has waged on Gaza.

Türk
called for international investigators to be granted access to all parts of
Gaza to help preserve evidence, noting that legal proceedings are under way to
examine conduct during the war.

Türk’s
statement said that Israel has prevented the entry of heavy machinery needed to
remove the rubble.

Francesca
Albanese, the UN expert on the Palestinian territories, said that evidence
should be collected and the remains of victims identified before full rubble
removal operations begin.

Palestinian
Civil Defence said this month that the bodies and remains of 96 people had been
recovered from a single site in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, among them 58
children and 23 women.

—
Ends/Khalid