UN expert warns evidence of Israel’s ‘atrocity crimes’ risks being removed

A UN expert has warned that large-scale rubble removal in parts of Gaza under Israeli control risks erasing traces of “atrocity crimes”, and preventing the recovery and identification of human remains.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, warned in a statement on Monday that the implications of Israel’s “ongoing removal, crushing and relocation of rubble in Gaza” were “profound”.

“Gaza’s rubble contains human remains and physical evidence relevant to the investigation of alleged international crimes, including genocide,” she said, pointing to estimates from Palestinian authorities that more than 10,000 people remained buried under the debris in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.

The Italian-born independent expert has faced harsh criticism from Israel and some of its allies over her long-standing accusations that Israel is committing genocide and other war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Albanese, who was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022 but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said she had received credible information from multiple sources last month of “deliberate and widespread removal, crushing and transport of rubble”.