Three Years of Waiting Before the Exhumation of Gaza Victims’ Remains Double the Suffering of Palestinians

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today said the painstaking recovery of extensive human remains in Gaza, mostly of children and women, almost three years after their homes were heavily bombed by Israeli forces, underscores serious concerns over compliance with international law, and the possibility that serious violations, including war crimes, may have been committed.

“The remains of what appears to be entire families are now being unearthed at locations that were pulverized by Israeli attacks. It is heartbreaking that the loved ones of those missing for so long are only now having their worst fears confirmed,” said the High Commissioner.

“I worry the remains recovered so far may only be the tip of the iceberg. Much of Gaza has been flattened by Israeli bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives. Today, many areas in Gaza where the Israeli military is deployed continue to be levelled by bulldozers with no respect for the dead under the rubble.”

Türk said it was critical that evidence of violations – including at destroyed sites – be preserved, given ongoing legal proceedings regarding the conduct of hostilities in Gaza. He called for international investigators to be allowed into all parts of Gaza to assist with evidence-gathering.

Israel refuses entry of heavy machinery for removing the rubble.

The Palestinian Civil Defence reports that more than 630 bodies and other human remains have been recovered from beneath destroyed buildings across Gaza between November 2025 and September 2026. It estimates the total number of missing under the rubble at over 8,000.

“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,” the High Commissioner said.

Between 27 June and 27 August, the Palestinian Civil Defence reported that 233 of 407 bodies believed to be under 20 destroyed buildings, mostly in Gaza City, had been recovered. This figure of 233 included 74 children and 106 women.

This month, Palestinian Civil Defence teams said they had recovered 96 bodies and human remains at one site in Az Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City, allegedly struck in November 2023. Of the bodies and remains recovered, 58 were children and 23 women. Most of the remains have been recovered using bare hands.

“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,” the High Commissioner 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.”

A 2024 report by the UN Human Rights Office highlighted the use by Israel of heavy bombs of up to 2000lbs from 9 October to 2 December 2023 on residential buildings, as well as 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. Under this law, warring parties must 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 Türk.

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

The High Commissioner said that Israel has clear obligations under international law to take all measures to search and account for missing persons, as well as to search, collect and evacuate the dead. In areas where the Israeli ground forces are deployed, remains must be recovered in a dignified manner, identified and all potential evidence preserved.

He added that recovering and burying the victims does not substitute for establishing the circumstances in which they were killed. “The reported killing of large numbers of family members, including children, women and persons with disabilities, in attacks on residential buildings raises grave concerns regarding compliance with the rules governing the conduct of hostilities.

“These attacks must be effectively investigated. Where violations are established, those responsible must be held to account. I urge all States to press for greater cooperation and coordination to ensure the recovery of bodies across all of Gaza in a dignified and humane way.”