UN Expert Warns Gaza Rubble May Conceal War Crimes Evidence
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has warned that Israel’s removal of debris from the Gaza Strip could lead to the destruction of significant evidence of war crimes committed against Palestinian civilians. This action may also obstruct efforts to recover the bodies of martyrs and identify them.
Albanese stated in her report that evidence collection and victim identification must precede any comprehensive operation to clear the rubble. She emphasized the necessity for Palestinians to play a role and assume responsibility in developing and implementing debris removal plans.
The UN official further elaborated that the rubble in Gaza “does not merely represent collapsed buildings; it is part of a crime scene, a graveyard, and physical evidence.” Albanese revealed that she has been informed by multiple sources that Israeli companies are involved in the debris removal operations.
Albanese’s warnings come as the United Nations estimates the volume of rubble and destruction accumulated in the Gaza Strip at approximately 61 million tons. It is projected that clearing this extent of devastation could take around seven years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Israeli regime, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli military have not yet responded to Albanese’s statements. These entities have previously vehemently rejected her positions regarding the Israeli regime’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Conversely, Hamas welcomed Albanese’s warning and called for debris clearance in a manner that guarantees the recovery of missing persons and the preservation of evidence. In related news, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that over 73,000 Palestinians have been martyred during the Israeli regime’s aggression on Gaza. Palestinian authorities estimate that more than 8,000 martyrs remain buried under the rubble. Last month, a Palestinian team discovered the bodies of 112 members of a single family during a rubble search operation in Gaza City.
