Gaza remains recovery points to possible war crimes, says UN rights chief

The UN Human Rights High Commissioner said on Tuesday that this “painstaking” recovery effort raises serious questions about compliance with international law, and that war crimes may have been committed. 

Volker Türk called for investigators to be given access to the territory. Palestinian authorities say thousands of bodies remain buried under rubble, but Israel is refusing entry to the heavy machinery needed to clear it. 

“The remains of what appears to be entire families are now being unearthed at locations that were pulverized by Israeli attacks,” he said. 

“It is heartbreaking that the loved ones of those missing for so long are only now having their worst fears confirmed.” 

Possible ‘tip of the iceberg’

The High Commissioner worried that remains recovered to date “may only be the tip of the iceberg” because “much of Gaza has been flattened by Israeli bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives.” 

Furthermore, many areas where Israeli troops are deployed “continue to be levelled by bulldozers with no respect for the dead under the rubble.” 

He stressed the critical need to preserve evidence of violations – including at destroyed sites – given ongoing legal proceedings regarding the conduct of hostilities in Gaza.  

Allow investigators in

The rights chief called for international investigators to be allowed into all parts of Gaza to help gather evidence and noted that Israel refuses entry of heavy machinery for removing rubble.  

He cited Palestinian civil defence authorities which reported more than 630 bodies and other human remains have been recovered from beneath destroyed buildings across Gaza since November 2025. They also estimated that over 8,000 are missing under the rubble. 

“Every feasible effort must be taken to document and identify these victims, preserve forensic information and biological samples, record their burial locations and inform their families,” he said.  

Recovery compounds suffering

Between 27 June and 27 August, local authorities reported recovering 233 of 407 bodies believed to be beneath 20 destroyed buildings, mostly in Gaza City. They included 74 children and 106 women. 

This month, teams said they had recovered 96 bodies and human remains at one site in Az Zeitoun, a neighbourhood southeast of Gaza City which was allegedly struck in November 2023.  

Most of the remains were recovered by hand, and among them were 58 children and 23 women.  

“These painstaking recovery efforts are a stark reminder of the gravity and breadth of the destruction three years ago, compounded today by the prolonged suffering and misery brought by years of not knowing,” Mr. Türk said. 

“The right of families to know the fate of their relatives does not end with identification and a dignified burial. They deserve to know the full truth.” 

War crimes concerns

In a 2024 report, the High Commissioner’s Office, OHCHR, highlighted the use by Israel of heavy bombs of up to 2,000lbs from 9 October to 2 December 2023 against residential buildings, a school, refugee camps and a market, killing over 200 people.  

The report concluded that the strikes may have violated fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, which requires warring parties to abide by the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.  

“On a number of occasions, I have expressed grave concerns that Israel’s choices of methods and means of conducting hostilities, including through the extensive use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas, failed to ensure that they effectively distinguish between civilians and fighters,” said Mr. Türk.  

“The discovery of extensive remains under the rubble in Gaza City resurfaces these concerns of war crimes and other atrocity crimes.”