Gaza Herald _As international investigators continue seeking accountability for atrocities committed in Gaza, a new concern has emerged: the systematic removal of the very evidence that could help establish what happened.
According to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israeli forces, working alongside Israeli civilian contractors, are carrying out a large-scale operation to demolish, crush, and transport rubble from neighborhoods and civilian facilities destroyed during the war. The debris is being removed from areas under Israeli military control and taken outside the Gaza Strip before independent investigators have been able to examine the sites.
The organization said the operation is unfolding without transparent official records, independent oversight, or forensic documentation, raising serious concerns that crucial evidence, including human remains still buried beneath the rubble, could be permanently lost.
Rather than serving humanitarian purposes such as recovering victims, reopening roads, or preparing for reconstruction, the report says the operation is taking place unilaterally inside closed military-controlled areas. Remaining buildings are being demolished, debris is crushed and mixed together, and truckloads of rubble are removed before forensic specialists, crime-scene investigators, and unexploded ordnance experts can inspect and preserve the sites.
Millions of Tons of Debris Removed
The World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union estimated in their Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, published in April 2026, that approximately 68 million tons of rubble were scattered across Gaza based on damage assessments through October 2025. The assessment does not include destruction caused by subsequent military operations.
Based on its own field documentation, Euro-Med Monitor estimates that at least 10 million tons of rubble have already been removed, crushed, or relocated from areas under Israeli military control, which now encompass roughly 66 percent of the Gaza Strip.
The organization reported that approximately 400 heavy machines operated by Israeli civilian companies under military protection are actively demolishing damaged structures, crushing debris, and loading it onto trucks throughout eastern and southern Gaza.
In recent weeks, Euro-Med Monitor documented nearly 100 Israeli trucks leaving Gaza every day carrying rubble to undisclosed locations inside Israel and south of the occupied West Bank.
According to the organization, Israeli authorities have provided no public information regarding the volume of debris removed, transportation routes, destination sites, or how the material is being used. Independent monitors have also not been allowed to oversee the weighing, sorting, or transportation process, making it extremely difficult to trace the debris, recover possible evidence, or locate human remains that may have been transported with it.
Evidence at Risk
Euro-Med Monitor said the systematic removal of rubble on such a scale threatens to erase evidence linked to some of the gravest crimes committed during the war, including the killing of civilians and summary executions.
Many of the destroyed neighborhoods, hospitals, shelters, and residential buildings are believed to contain critical forensic evidence, including locations where entire families were killed, suspected mass graves, and the remains of people still buried beneath collapsed structures.
According to the organization, these sites may preserve essential evidence capable of identifying the types of weapons used, the sequence of attacks, the positions of victims and attackers, firing trajectories, biological material, shell fragments, personal belongings, and other forensic evidence necessary for future criminal investigations.
Crushing, mixing, and transporting the debris before these locations are documented, the report said, risks permanently destroying crime scenes, breaking the chain of custody, and making it impossible to connect physical evidence to specific incidents or victims.
Even extensive photographic documentation or witness testimony, the organization noted, cannot replace physical evidence required in international criminal investigations.
Thousands of Missing Remain Buried Beneath the Rubble
Beyond the loss of forensic evidence, Euro-Med Monitor warned that the large-scale rubble removal operation places the remains of thousands of missing Palestinians at immediate risk.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, around 8,500 people remained missing beneath the rubble as of July 2026. The organization said the use of heavy excavators and crushing machinery before forensic and humanitarian teams have surveyed the sites could destroy or scatter human remains, separate them from personal belongings and identification documents, and transport them to unknown locations where recovery may become impossible.
The report stressed that such actions deny families the right to learn the fate of their loved ones and to recover and bury their remains with dignity.
Euro-Med Monitor added that the operations conflict with international standards governing the investigation of unlawful deaths, including the Minnesota Protocol, which requires crime scenes to be secured, documented, and scientifically examined while preserving evidence and maintaining a clear chain of custody.
More Than Rubble
The report emphasized that Gaza’s debris represents far more than shattered concrete.
It contains private homes, public property, recyclable construction materials such as steel, stone, and concrete, along with official records, property deeds, personal documents, and belongings that form part of Palestinians’ history, identity, and legal ownership.
According to Euro-Med Monitor, removing or commercially exploiting these materials without the consent of their owners or without compensation 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 said the rubble also contains valuable resources that could play a vital role in rebuilding homes, roads, schools, and public infrastructure once reconstruction begins.
A Broader Pattern
Euro-Med Monitor said the removal of rubble forms part of a wider pattern of actions that have unfolded throughout the war.
According to the report, this pattern includes bulldozing sites believed to contain mass graves, damaging hospitals and medical facilities after they became potential crime scenes, continuing demolitions inside areas under Israeli military control, and targeting Palestinian journalists while restricting access for international investigators and independent media to some of Gaza’s most heavily devastated areas.
The organization warned that clearing potential crime scenes before investigations are completed could significantly hinder ongoing international legal efforts.
The International Criminal Court continues to investigate crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, while additional proceedings are underway in national courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Euro-Med Monitor said removing or destroying evidence before investigators can examine it complicates efforts to establish the facts and may permanently eliminate material crucial to future prosecutions.
The report also pointed to Article 70(1)(c) of the Rome Statute, which identifies the deliberate destruction of, tampering with, or interference in the collection of evidence as conduct that obstructs the administration of justice before the International Criminal Court.
Accordingly, the organization urged the ICC Prosecutor to examine whether the rubble removal operations constitute deliberate interference with evidence related to the court’s ongoing investigation into the Situation in the State of Palestine.
Erasing the Landscape of Gaza
Beyond the immediate destruction of evidence and the loss of human remains, Euro-Med Monitor warned that the removal of rubble is also transforming Gaza’s physical landscape in ways that could affect Palestinians’ ability to return and rebuild.
The organization said that crushing and transporting debris does not only remove destroyed buildings, it also erases neighborhood boundaries, home foundations, streets, and landmarks that preserve the connection between Palestinian families and their communities.
For many Palestinians, the ruins of their homes represent more than damaged structures. They hold memories, ownership records, family histories, and the physical evidence of generations rooted in the land.
Euro-Med Monitor said that turning destroyed Palestinian neighborhoods into flattened areas under military control risks deepening displacement by removing the very features that define communities and make reconstruction possible.
The organization connected this process to broader concerns over the future of Gaza, warning that the destruction and removal of physical traces of Palestinian life could contribute to efforts aimed at reshaping the territory’s geographic and demographic reality.
Calls for International Action
Euro-Med Monitor called on the international community, including the United Nations Security Council, the UN General Assembly, and states that are parties to the Rome Statute—to take immediate action to halt the removal and transportation of rubble from Gaza until independent investigations can take place.
The organization urged the deployment of international forensic and criminal investigation teams to access destruction sites, document evidence, recover human remains, and preserve materials needed to establish accountability.
It also called for full transparency regarding the rubble removal process, including disclosure of:
* The quantities of material transported.
* Truck routes and final destinations.
* Companies and contractors involved.
* Machinery and vehicle records.
* Financial agreements related to the removal, recycling, or sale of materials.
Euro-Med Monitor said no rubble or recyclable materials should be removed from Gaza until a transparent Palestinian and international mechanism is established to protect property rights and ensure that any materials taken unlawfully are either returned or compensated.
The organization said reusable debris should instead be allocated to Palestinian-led reconstruction projects that serve local communities and help rebuild homes, roads, and infrastructure.
Reconstruction Must Protect Rights
The report stressed that any future reconstruction process in Gaza must be led by Palestinians and include residents, property owners, and families of missing people.
Such efforts, it said, must prioritize the recovery of remains, preservation of evidence, clearance of unexploded weapons, protection of property records, and restoration of Gaza’s urban identity.
Euro-Med Monitor said reconstruction must not become a tool for consolidating control over the territory or changing its demographic and geographic character.
The organization concluded that political agreements or ceasefire arrangements cannot erase crimes or remove the need for accountability.
It said rebuilding Gaza must happen alongside preserving evidence, determining the fate of missing Palestinians, recovering property, and ensuring victims receive truth, justice, and reparations.
