UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk:
Three Years On, Recovery of Victims’ Remains — Mostly Children and Women — from Sites Devastated by Israeli Attacks Underscores Concerns of Possible War Crimes
15 September 2026 – Geneva
Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk:
The painstaking efforts to recover large quantities of human remains in Gaza, mostly those of children and women, nearly three years after their homes were subjected to intense Israeli bombardment, underscore serious concerns regarding compliance with international law and the possible commission of grave violations, including war crimes.
The remains of what are believed to be entire families are now being recovered from sites devastated by Israeli attacks. It is heartbreaking that the worst fears of the relatives of people who have remained missing for so long are only now being confirmed.
I fear that the remains recovered so far are only the tip of the iceberg. Large parts of Gaza have been levelled by Israeli bombardment or through demolition and bulldozing using heavy machinery and explosives. Even today, bulldozers continue to level numerous areas of Gaza where the Israeli military is deployed, with no regard for the dead lying beneath the rubble.
It is critically important to preserve evidence related to violations — including evidence located at destroyed sites — in light of the ongoing legal proceedings concerning the conduct of hostilities in Gaza.
I call for international investigators to be granted access throughout Gaza to assist in the collection of evidence.
Every possible effort must be made to document and identify these victims, preserve forensic information and biological samples, record the locations where their remains are found, and inform their families.
These painstaking recovery efforts are a stark reminder of the enormity and scale of the destruction inflicted nearly three years ago, now compounded by prolonged suffering and anguish resulting from years of uncertainty.
The right of families to know the fate of their relatives does not end with identifying them and burying them with dignity. They are entitled to know the full truth.
I have repeatedly expressed my profound concern that Israel’s choices regarding the methods and means used in the conduct of hostilities — including the widespread use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas — failed to ensure effective distinction between civilians and combatants.
The discovery of large quantities of human remains beneath the rubble in Gaza City brings these concerns regarding possible war crimes and other atrocity crimes back to the forefront.
Israel has clear obligations under international law to take all necessary measures to search for missing persons and ascertain their fate, as well as to search for, collect and evacuate the dead.
In areas where Israeli ground forces are deployed, human remains must be recovered in a manner that preserves the dignity of the dead. They must also be identified, and all potential evidence must be preserved.
Reports that large numbers of family members — including children, women and persons with disabilities — were killed in attacks on residential buildings raise grave concerns regarding compliance with the rules governing the conduct of hostilities.
These attacks must be effectively investigated. Wherever violations are established, those responsible must be held accountable.
I urge all States to promote greater cooperation and coordination to ensure that bodies are recovered throughout Gaza in a manner that preserves dignity and humanity.
Palestinian Civil Defence
According to the Palestinian Civil Defence, more than 630 bodies and other human remains were recovered from beneath destroyed buildings across Gaza between November 2025 and September 2026.
More than 8,000 people are estimated to remain missing beneath the rubble.
Between 27 June and 27 August, Civil Defence teams recovered 233 bodies out of an estimated 407 bodies believed to have been trapped beneath the rubble of 20 destroyed buildings, most of them located in Gaza City.
Of the 233 bodies recovered, 74 were children and 106 were women.
During this month, Civil Defence teams recovered 96 bodies and human remains from a single site in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City, which was reportedly bombed in November 2023.
Among the bodies and remains recovered were 58 children and 23 women.
Most of the remains were recovered with bare hands.
According to the Palestinian Civil Defence, Israel continues to refuse the entry of heavy machinery required for rubble removal.
Previous UN Findings on the Use of Heavy Explosive Weapons
A 2024 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) highlighted Israel’s use, between 9 October and 2 December 2023, of heavy bombs weighing up to 2,000 pounds against residential buildings, a school, refugee camps and a market, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 people.
The report concluded that the strikes may have violated fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
Under international humanitarian law, parties to an armed conflict are required to comply with the principles of:
Distinction between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives; Proportionality in attack; and Precautions in attack to minimize civilian harm.
End