Israel Is Removing Rubble From Gaza ‘to Erase Evidence’ of Genocide

Israel is removing rubble caused by demolitions and bomb blasts in Gaza to wipe away evidence of the ongoing genocide, rights groups say. 

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor estimates that 10 million tonnes of rubble have been carted away from the 66% of Gaza under Israeli military control. 

That means evidence of war crimes is being destroyed before forensics teams can investigate, the group says – and the remains of victims under the rubble are being taken away. 

Transforming forcibly depopulated Palestinian neighbourhoods into levelled spaces under Israeli control is an act of ethnic cleansing, the NGO added. 

“The bulldozing is an integral part of all attempts to destroy the lands in Gaza City and in the Gaza Strip in general,” Amnesty International researcher Budour Hassan told Al Jazeera. 

“The real fears are that these operations are taking place with the aim of obliterating and hiding evidence.”

Around 400 machines used to demolish, crush and transport rubble are being used by Israeli civilian companies under military protection in eastern and southern Gaza, according to Euro-Med. 

Sites being emptied of rubble include potential crime scenes where Palestinians were unlawfully killed, their homes destroyed and civilian infrastructures like hospitals flattened. 

Article 70(1)(c) of the Rome Statute, the treaty which informs the International Criminal Court, considers “destroying, tampering with or interfering with the collection of evidence” to be a criminal act. The court is currently investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine. 

Israel has killed at least 73,389 Palestinians and wounded another 174,266 in Gaza since October 2023.  About 10,000 are missing, with many believed to be buried underneath rubble.