A UN expert on Monday warned that Israel’s ongoing rubble-clearing operations in Gaza involve the removal, relocation and crushing of debris in a manner that could serve to obscure evidence of potential human rights violations atrocity crimes.

Commenting on the importance of exercising caution in large-scale efforts to remove rubble, Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, stated:

It is vital that before decisions are made on displacement or crushing by the occupying army or its allies, the recovery and dignified identification of human remains, systematic documentation of sites and materials, preservation of potentially relevant evidence, and an unbroken chain of custody under independent oversight must take place.

It is estimated that 10,000 people may be buried under the rubble that has resulted from the war in the Gaza Strip. In August, Palestinians were able to bury 112 individuals after a 17-day operation.

Albanese raised concerns that the January 2024 order, by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will continue to be violated. The order states that Israel must take the appropriate steps to preserve evidence related to potential breaches of the Genocide Convention.  In the application submitted by South Africa, it is stated that mass civilian casualties, forced displacement, and the deprivation of food, water and medical care show an intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

The Republic of South Africa, in its December 2023 application to the ICJ stated that when taken together, the commission of these acts fulfill both the mental and physical element of identifying genocide under the Genocide Convention. The mental element is divided into two parts—namely, proving specific intent (dolus specialis) to physically destroy the targeted group, and the commission of acts based on that intent.

Once the critical hurdle of proving specific intent has been fulfilled, the execution of any single one of five delineated acts—killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting destructive conditions of life, imposing measures to prevent birth, or forcibly transferring children to another group—fulfills the physical requirement of the crime.

Albanese emphasized that any removal of rubble should be done with utmost sensitivity ,and with strict adherence to the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, to ensure full accountability.

Intermittent bombardment of Gaza has continued since the ceasefire in October, and with the allegations brought forth by South Africa being years away from a conclusion, Palestinians are once again left in a place of uncertainty.