UN Expert Warns Against Erasing
Evidence of Israeli Occupation Crimes in Gaza

Geneva, 8 Sep 2026 (ONA) — UN
Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has warned against using rubble clearance
operations in areas of the Gaza Strip under Israeli military control as a means
to “erase the traces” of crimes.

Albanese said the removal, crushing
and transportation of rubble in Gaza must not damage evidence of international
crimes or prevent the recovery and identification of human remains, noting that
the rubble contains human remains and crucial physical evidence for
investigating allegations of international crimes.

More than 10,000 people are believed
to remain buried under the rubble, she said, while “approximately 70 percent of
Gaza’s area is subject to access restrictions and varying degrees of Israeli
military control.”

She said she had received “credible
information” in August from multiple sources indicating a process of
“deliberate and large‑scale removal, crushing and transportation of rubble.”
The rubble in the devastated Strip, she added, “is part of a crime scene and a
cemetery, and constitutes physical evidence of what happened during a brutal
and indiscriminate two‑year bombing campaign.”

“Before this rubble is removed or
destroyed, human remains must be recovered and identified with dignity, sites
and materials must be systematically documented, and evidence must be
preserved,” Albanese said.

She stressed that government
authorities and companies involved in the removal process must be aware that
they may face criminal accountability if they destroy evidence of international
crimes.

— Ends/Khalid