UN calls for international investigators to be granted access to all areas of Gaza, Palestine
In the Gaza Strip, Palestine, the UN called for international investigators to be granted access to the entire territory to collect evidence after hundreds of bodies were discovered beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. This was reported by Asharq Al-Awsat.
Collection and preservation of evidence
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that human remains, likely belonging to entire families, are being found at sites destroyed by Israeli attacks. He expressed concern that the discovered remains may be only part of a much larger number of bodies that remain beneath the ruins.
Türk also noted that a significant part of Gaza has been destroyed by bombardments, as well as by the clearing of areas with heavy machinery and explosives. According to him, in areas where Israeli military forces are deployed, bulldozers continue to level sites without proper attention to bodies that may be under the rubble.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed the need to document and identify victims, preserve forensic data and biological samples, record burial sites, and notify the families of the deceased.
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Gaza Civil Defense data
According to the Palestinian Civil Defense, since November, more than 630 bodies and other human remains have been recovered from the debris of destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip. It estimates that more than 8,000 people may remain under the rubble.
Türk said that the discovery of a significant number of remains beneath the ruins in Gaza City once again raises concerns over possible war crimes and other grave crimes. According to Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli bombardments and the ground offensive, including more than 1,350 since the ceasefire agreement in October last year.
Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
