Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

Israel Is Erasing Evidence of Genocide in Gaza Through the Daily Removal of Rubble, Human Remains, and Physical Evidence

5 Aug 2026 – Statement of Facts
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
Removing physical evidence from crime scenes before investigations are completed constitutes a direct threat to the course of legal accountability

Israel is erasing the traces of genocide in Gaza through approximately 100 trucks transporting rubble, evidence, and the remains of missing persons every day
Transforming Palestinian cities and neighborhoods that were forcibly depopulated into flattened, open areas under Israeli control represents a material step toward entrenching forced displacement and ethnic cleansing

A ceasefire or political arrangements do not erase crimes already committed, nor do they justify the removal of their traces. Rubble removal and reconstruction must proceed alongside the preservation of evidence, clarification of the fate of the missing, restitution of property, accountability for perpetrators, and the protection of victims’ rights to truth, justice, and full reparation
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor warns that Israeli occupation forces, with the participation of Israeli civilian companies, are carrying out a large-scale and systematic operation to crush and remove the rubble of neighborhoods and buildings they destroyed throughout the Gaza Strip, transporting it from areas under Israeli military control to locations outside Gaza without transparency or independent oversight. These operations are taking place before international and local investigative bodies have been allowed to inspect and document the sites, posing a serious risk of destroying material evidence of genocide and disturbing the remains of victims who are still missing beneath the rubble
According to Euro-Med Monitor, these activities are not humanitarian operations aimed at rescuing missing persons, reopening roads, or preparing for reconstruction. Instead, Israel is unilaterally demolishing what remains of buildings, crushing and mixing the debris, and transporting it away before forensic experts, crime-scene investigators, and explosive ordnance specialists are permitted to examine and preserve the evidence and human remains

The report estimates that at least 10 million tons of rubble have already been removed, crushed, or relocated from their original locations within areas under Israel’s unlawful military control, while nearly 400 excavation, demolition, crushing, and transport machines operated by Israeli civilian companies continue to work under military protection. Euro-Med also documented the movement of approximately 100 Israeli trucks per day carrying rubble to undisclosed locations inside Israel and the southern occupied West Bank

The organization stresses that removing rubble in this manner conceals evidence of grave international crimes, including possible unlawful killings, mass casualty incidents, and suspected mass graves. These sites may contain crucial forensic evidence relating to the weapons used, the sequence of attacks, the locations of victims, ballistic evidence, biological traces, and personal belongings necessary for criminal investigations. Crushing and relocating the rubble destroys the integrity of crime scenes and may permanently compromise future prosecutions

Euro-Med further warns of the direct threat posed to the remains of approximately 8,500 missing persons, whom Gaza Civil Defense estimated in July 2026 were still trapped beneath the rubble. The use of heavy machinery without prior forensic examination risks crushing, scattering, and permanently separating human remains from identifying documents and personal effects, making future identification nearly impossible

The report states that these practices violate the rights of families to know the fate of their loved ones and to recover and bury their remains with dignity. They are also inconsistent with international standards, including the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, which requires the preservation of crime scenes, protection of evidence, and scientific recovery of human remains

Euro-Med argues that removing or commercially exploiting Gaza’s rubble without the consent of its owners may constitute unlawful confiscation or pillage under international humanitarian law, including Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and relevant provisions of the Rome Statute

The organization also notes that these actions occur while the International Criminal Court is conducting an ongoing investigation into the Situation in Palestine. It emphasizes that removing material evidence from crime scenes before investigations are completed poses a direct threat to accountability and may obstruct the administration of justice. Euro-Med specifically refers to Article 70(1)(c) of the Rome Statute, which criminalizes the intentional destruction of evidence or interference with its collection, and calls on the Office of the Prosecutor to investigate these acts

Finally, Euro-Med calls on the international community, including the United Nations, States Parties to the Rome Statute, and relevant governments, to immediately halt the removal of rubble from Gaza, ensure access for independent forensic experts and international investigators, require Israel to disclose all records relating to rubble removal and transport, prohibit the export or commercial exploitation of rubble until a transparent Palestinian and international management mechanism is established, and ensure that reconstruction is carried out under Palestinian leadership while preserving evidence, recovering human remains, protecting property rights, and guaranteeing victims’ rights to truth, justice, and full reparation

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