«United Nations»: Recovery of bodies in Gaza raises fears of «war crimes» - Sarmad
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the recovery of hundreds of bodies from beneath the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes on Gaza has reignited concerns that war crimes have been committed there.
Türk stated that the remains of what appear to be entire families are being recovered from sites destroyed during Israeli attacks, adding that many of the victims are women and children, and expressing regret that the loved ones of the missing are now only confirming their worst fears.
Türk pointed out that these discoveries have revived concerns raised by a 2024 UN report, which concluded that Israeli strikes on residential buildings and other civilian sites during the early weeks of the war may have violated international humanitarian law. Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of deliberately targeting civilians, maintaining that it has acted in accordance with international law.
The Palestinian Civil Defense reported that more than 630 bodies and human remains have been extracted from under collapsed buildings in Gaza since November 2025, while Palestinian authorities estimate that more than 8,000 people remain buried under the rubble.
Türk expressed fear that the remains recovered so far represent “only the tip of the iceberg,” noting that large parts of Gaza have been leveled. He accused Israel of continuing to flatten areas where its troops remain deployed, stating that bulldozers are operating “without respect for the dead under the rubble.”
He called for granting international investigators access to all parts of Gaza to help preserve evidence, noting that Israel has prevented the entry of heavy machinery needed to clear the debris.
Francesca Albanese, the UN expert on the occupied Palestinian territories, stated that evidence should be collected and human remains identified before full clearance begins. Earlier this month, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that 96 bodies and human remains were extracted from a single site in the Al-Zaytoun area of Gaza City, including 58 children and 23 women.
