Israeli clearance of Gaza rubble could destroy evidence of 'atrocity crimes,' says UN expert

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Sep 07, 2026 2:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A UN expert said on ‌Monday that Israeli clearance of rubble in Gaza could destroy valuable evidence of "atrocity crimes" and prevent the recovery of human remains.

Israel's assault on Gaza — started after the deadly raid into Israel by Hamas in October 2023 — has generated around 61 million tons of wreckage and debris that could take seven ​years to clear, according to the United Nations.

Francesca Albanese, the UN ​expert on the Palestinian territories, issued a statement headlined: "UN expert warns Israeli rubble-clearing could erase traces of atrocity crimes" ​and said Palestinians should be behind any plans to remove waste.

It said her office received information about Israel's "deliberate and widespread removal, crushing and transport of rubble" in August. Albanese said evidence should be gathered and human remains identified before full clearance started.

"In devastated Gaza, rubble is ⁠not just construction waste. It is ⁠part of a crime scene, a graveyard, and ‌the material record of what happened during a brutal and senseless bombing campaign that lasted two years,” she said in the release.

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a news conference during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva on March 24. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

She said that multiple sources had confirmed Israeli companies were involved in the clearance, without naming those sources. Her office did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters on where that information had come from.

Israel's Foreign ⁠Ministry, its prime minister's office and military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, all have fiercely disagreed with Albanese, who has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of Israel's military actions in Gaza.

In ‌February, Germany, France and Italy all condemned what they said were her overly negative statements about Israel, though she denied making the remarks they cited.

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In July last year, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Albanese over what it said were her efforts to prompt the International Criminal Court to take action against U.S. ​and Israeli officials, companies and executives.

UN experts are commissioned by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to monitor and document specific human rights crises but are independent ⁠of the organization itself.

Palestinians walk past destroyed residential buildings in Gaza City on Aug. 15. (Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)

The 2023 Hamas-led attacks killed 1,200 people in Israel while another 251 were taken hostage, according ⁠to Israeli tallies.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel says ⁠it ⁠has gone to great lengths to avoid ​civilian casualties and that Hamas uses Gaza's civilians as human shields in densely populated areas — a claim Hamas denies.

In a statement, ​Hamas said it appreciated Albanese's warning, and ⁠urged that the rubble be removed in a manner that "ensures the recovery of the remains of missing persons and the preservation of evidence."

Palestinian authorities estimate more than 8,000 people remain buried in the wreckage. A Palestinian recovery team that combed through the wreckage in Gaza City last month said it found the remains of 112 people from the same clan.