Israeli bulldozers level Gaza rubble, ‘no respect for dead’: UN

More than 630 bodies and human remains recovered from Gaza rubble since November 2025.

Gaza City: Israeli bulldozers continue to level areas of Gaza where people may remain buried beneath the rubble, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Tuesday, September 15.

Turk warned that the recovery of extensive human remains from destroyed buildings had raised serious concerns over compliance with international law and the possibility ⁹⁹ 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,” he said.

“It is heartbreaking that the loved ones of those missing for so long are only now having their worst fears confirmed.”

Turk said the remains recovered so far could be “only the tip of the iceberg”, given the scale of destruction across Gaza.

“Much of Gaza has been flattened by Israeli bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives,” he said. Areas where Israeli forces remain deployed, he added, “continue to be levelled by bulldozers with no respect for the dead under the rubble”.

More than 630 remains recovered

The warning came as Palestinian Civil Defence teams continued efforts to recover bodies and human remains from beneath destroyed buildings across Gaza.

Palestinian Civil Defence reported that more than 630 bodies and other human remains had been recovered from beneath destroyed buildings between November 2025 and September 2026. It estimates that more than 8,000 people remain missing under the rubble.

Between June 27 and August 27, Civil Defence teams recovered 233 of 407 bodies believed to be beneath 20 destroyed buildings, mostly in Gaza City. The recovered remains included 74 children and 106 women.

This month, teams recovered 96 bodies and human remains from a site in Az Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City, which Palestinian authorities said was struck in November 2023. The remains included 58 children and 23 women, with most recovered by hand.

The recovery efforts have highlighted the prolonged uncertainty faced by families who have spent years without knowing the fate of their relatives.

“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,” Turk said.

UN calls for evidence to be preserved

Turk said evidence of possible violations, including material at destroyed sites, must be preserved amid ongoing legal proceedings concerning the conduct of hostilities in Gaza.

He called for international investigators to be allowed access to all parts of the territory to assist with gathering and preserving evidence.

The UN said Israel was refusing entry to heavy machinery needed to remove rubble from Gaza.

Turk said Israel had obligations under international law to search for and account for missing people and to search for, collect and evacuate the dead.

In areas where Israeli ground forces are deployed, remains should be recovered in a dignified manner, identified and any potential evidence preserved, he said.

He stressed that recovering and burying victims did not replace the need to establish the circumstances in which they were killed.

Previous UN concerns

Turk’s latest warning follows concerns previously raised by the UN Human Rights Office over Israel’s conduct of hostilities in Gaza.

A 2024 UN report examined Israeli strikes involving heavy bombs of up to 2,000 pounds against residential buildings, a school, refugee camps and a market between October 9 and December 2, 2023.

The report concluded that some of the strikes may have violated fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.

Turk reiterated concerns over the extensive use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas, saying such methods raised questions over whether civilians and fighters were being effectively distinguished.

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

He added that reports of large numbers of family members, including children, women and people with disabilities, being killed in attacks on residential buildings raised serious concerns over 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,” Turk said.

He urged states to support greater cooperation and coordination to ensure the recovery of bodies across Gaza in a dignified and humane manner.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said 73,795 Palestinians had been killed and 174,798 injured since October 7, 2023. Since the agreement took effect, 1,381 Palestinians had been killed and 4,757 others injured, according to the ministry.