Hamas accuses Israel of attempting to conceal evidence of Gaza genocide

Palestinian group calls for international investigators and forensic experts to oversee recovery of bodies and preservation of evidence

The Palestinian group Hamas warned Monday that Israel was attempting to conceal evidence of genocide committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by removing, crushing and transporting rubble under which the bodies of thousands of missing people are believed to remain. In a statement, it warned of “attempts by the occupation government and its army to conceal evidence of the brutal crimes committed against our people in the Gaza Strip through the removal, crushing and transportation of rubble.” It said these activities were taking place despite the presence beneath the debris of “the bodies of thousands of missing people and material evidence of the crimes of genocide committed by the occupation over two years.” Hamas said tampering with sites containing bodies and potential evidence “constitutes a violation of international law and the International Court of Justice’s order to preserve evidence.” It added that such actions also amount to “an assault on the dignity of the martyrs and the right of their families to recover and bury the bodies of their loved ones.” The group welcomed a warning by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, that Israel’s removal, crushing and transportation of rubble could risk erasing traces of "atrocity crimes" in the Gaza Strip. It called on the UN, the International Criminal Court and other relevant bodies to “take urgent action to protect these sites.” Hamas also demanded that international investigative teams and forensic experts be allowed into Gaza to oversee the recovery of bodies and the documentation and preservation of evidence. It stressed that accelerating rubble removal and reconstruction in Gaza was “an urgent humanitarian and national necessity and an inherent right of our people.” The process, it said, must be carried out “in a manner that ensures the recovery of the bodies of missing people and the preservation of evidence while preventing the occupation from exploiting these operations to conceal evidence of its crimes and evade accountability.” On Aug. 3, the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned of Israeli operations to crush and remove debris from destroyed buildings in areas under its military control in Gaza with the involvement of Israeli civilian companies. The rights group estimated that at least 10 million tons of rubble had been removed, crushed or displaced from its original locations in areas it said were under Israeli military control and covered around 66% of the enclave. It said it had documented about 100 Israeli trucks transporting rubble out of Gaza each day in the weeks preceding its statement, while around 400 demolition, crushing and transport vehicles were operating in eastern and southern parts of the enclave. Israel waged a two-year genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that according to Palestinian figures killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000. More than 9,000 people remain missing, while widespread destruction has devastated civilian infrastructure across the enclave.