Hamas says Israel is attempting to conceal evidence of genocide in the Gaza Strip
Hamas said that in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip, Israel is allegedly attempting to conceal evidence of genocide against Palestinians by removing, crushing and relocating rubble. According to the group, the bodies of thousands of missing people and material evidence of genocide crimes may remain beneath the debris.
As Anadolu Agency reports, Hamas described interference with sites where bodies and evidence may be located as a violation of international law and the International Court of Justice's order on preserving evidence. The group also said that such actions infringe upon the dignity of the dead and the right of their families to find and bury their loved ones.
Call to admit experts
Hamas welcomed warnings by UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese. She cautioned that the removal, crushing and transportation of rubble could create a risk of erasing traces of grave crimes in the Gaza Strip.
The group called on the UN, the International Criminal Court and other relevant bodies to urgently protect such sites. It also demanded that international investigative teams and forensic experts be allowed into Gaza to monitor the search for bodies, documentation and preservation of evidence.
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Hamas said that accelerating rubble clearance and Gaza's reconstruction is an urgent humanitarian and national need. At the same time, according to its position, this work must ensure the search for the bodies of missing people and the preservation of evidence.
Human rights defenders' data
On August 3, the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported operations to crush and remove debris from destroyed buildings in areas of Gaza that, according to its data, were under Israeli military control. The organization estimated that at least 10 million tonnes of rubble had been removed, crushed or relocated from their original sites in areas covering about 66% of the enclave.
Human rights defenders also said that, for several weeks before their statement was published, around 100 Israeli trucks had been removing rubble from Gaza every day. According to their data, about 400 machines for demolition, crushing and transportation were operating in the eastern and southern parts of the enclave. According to Palestinian data, more than 9,000 people in Gaza remain missing.
