Israel’s removal of Gaza rubble risk to war crimes evidence: UN

International Court of Justice ordered Israel in 2024 to prevent the destruction of evidence related to war crimes.

Civil defence personnel look for human remains in the central Gaza Strip [File: AFP]

Israel’s clearance of rubble in Gaza could destroy evidence of war crimes, warns the United Nations.

States and companies removing the rubble “could incur international criminal responsibility” for destroying evidence of crimes committed during Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave, said the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied territories, Francesca Albanese, on Monday.

list 1 of 4 Palestinians mourn loved ones in mass funeral in Gaza City

list 2 of 4 Photos: Gaza holds funeral for 100 Palestinians recovered from rubble

list 3 of 4 Seven mouths, one meal: Feeding a family through Gaza’s food crisis

list 4 of 4 Eight-year-old Gaza girl killed by Israel on first day of school

It has been two years since the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take effective measures to prevent the destruction of evidence relating to allegations under the Genocide Convention.

“It is unacceptable that the reconstruction of Gaza is conditioned upon the erasure of its past and the evidence required to secure justice for its victims”, said Albanese, a harsh critic of Israel.

The Israeli military carried out a massive operation in August to crush, mix and transport millions of tonnes of rubble from numerous sites, including cemeteries and other known locations of human remains.

A report by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor issued last month said that the removal of debris from Gaza could be an attempt at demographic engineering and erasing evidence of the genocide.

Palestinian authorities estimate that more than 8,000 people remain buried under the debris, with many in Gaza still searching for the remains of loved ones. Israel continues to block the heavy machinery and forensic supplies needed to recover bodies.

On Sunday, Palestinians in northern Gaza held funeral ceremonies for about 100 people, including 60 children, whose remains were recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City.

The head of Gaza’s civil defence service, Raed al-Dahshan, told Al Jazeera that with proper equipment, recovering remains from under the rubble could be completed in about 90 days, but it could take years without it.

国际法院于 2024 年下令以色列阻止销毁与战争罪行有关的证据。

民防人员在加沙地带中部搜寻人类遗骸 [图片：法新社]

联合国警告称，以色列清理加沙地带的瓦砾可能会销毁战争罪行的证据。

联合国被占领土问题特别报告员弗朗西斯卡·阿尔巴内塞周一表示，各国和公司清除瓦砾“可能承担国际刑事责任”，因为它们销毁了以色列在对飞地进行种族灭绝战争期间所犯罪行的证据。

（共4张图，第1张）巴勒斯坦人在加沙城举行集体葬礼，悼念逝去的亲人

图2/4：加沙为100名从废墟中救出的巴勒斯坦人举行葬礼

列表 3/4 七张嘴，一顿饭：加沙粮食危机中的家庭困境

列表 4/4：八岁加沙女孩在开学第一天被以色列杀害

国际法院两年前就已命令以色列采取有效措施，防止销毁与《防止及惩治灭绝种族罪公约》指控有关的证据。

“以抹去加沙的历史和为受害者伸张正义所需的证据为条件来重建加沙是不可接受的，”以色列的严厉批评者阿尔巴尼斯说道。

以色列军方于 8 月开展了一项大规模行动，从包括墓地和其他已知人类遗骸所在地在内的多个地点，粉碎、混合和运输数百万吨瓦砾。

欧洲-地中海人权观察组织上个月发布的一份报告称，清除加沙地带的瓦砾可能是一种人口结构改造和抹去种族灭绝证据的企图。

巴勒斯坦当局估计，仍有超过8000人被埋在废墟下，加沙地带的许多人仍在寻找亲人的遗骸。以色列继续阻止运送打捞遗体所需的重型机械和法医用品。

周日，加沙北部巴勒斯坦人为约 100 人举行了葬礼，其中包括 60 名儿童，他们的遗体是从加沙城被毁建筑物的废墟中找到的。

加沙民防部门负责人拉伊德·达赫沙恩告诉半岛电视台，如果拥有合适的设备，从废墟下找到遗骸大约需要 90 天，但如果没有合适的设备，可能需要数年时间。