The Israeli occupation is endangering the remains of thousands of Palestinians still buried beneath Gaza’s destruction, while potentially eliminating forensic evidence documenting crimes committed throughout the war, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) warned on Sunday.

In a statement, the PFLP’s Office of Martyrs, Prisoners, and Wounded sounded the alarm over the occupation’s continued transfer of rubble from destroyed buildings across the Gaza Strip to what it describes as “military zones".

The office stressed that the debris being removed is not simply the remains of demolished infrastructure, but in many cases contains the bodies and fragmented remains of martyrs and missing Palestinians who have yet to be recovered.

It warned that transferring, crushing, or processing the rubble before specialized and independent teams are able to search and examine the sites risks destroying, mixing, and dispersing human remains, potentially making the identification of victims impossible.

Gaza rubble holds evidence of Israeli crimes

The PFLP further warned that the rubble contains material and forensic evidence that could prove crucial in documenting the circumstances in which Palestinians were killed, identifying the locations struck, and determining the weapons used by the Israeli occupation.

Removing the debris from its original location, the office said, could therefore erase evidence relevant to investigations into Israeli attacks and obstruct efforts to establish accountability.

“The rubble in Gaza is not merely war debris,” the statement stressed, noting that large sections of it effectively constitute burial sites containing the remains of martyrs alongside evidence of crimes committed against the Palestinian people.

The office demanded an immediate halt to rubble-removal operations at locations where bodies may still be present and called for forensic teams and personnel searching for missing Palestinians to be granted access to the affected sites.

It also called for independent international supervision to ensure that human remains and potential evidence are preserved and protected from destruction, disappearance, or tampering.

The PFLP additionally demanded an international investigation into the occupation’s transfer and handling of rubble and into the fate of the remains and evidence contained within it.

Source:Websites