The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has urged urgent international action to stop Israeli rubble removal and land leveling in Rafah, in southern Gaza, warning that the operations are destroying evidence of crimes and preventing the recovery of victims’ bodies.
The rights group said Israeli forces, along with contractors working under their authority, have evacuated areas under full Israeli control in Rafah and launched large-scale bulldozing. The Israeli army has confirmed that at least 70 percent of rubble removal in the city is complete.
Euro-Med warned that these operations continue despite strong indications that hundreds of bodies remain buried under destroyed homes, streets, and farmland. It said bulldozing risks damaging human remains, erasing their locations, and making recovery and identification impossible.
The group said it had previously documented the bombing of homes while residents were inside and attacks on civilians as they tried to flee. Rescue teams could not reach many victims due to Israel’s military control and blocked access. It added that rubble removal now extends this obstruction and raises the risk of wiping out evidence linked to the victims’ fate.
Euro-Med also warned that heavy machinery may fragment remains or mix them with debris that contractors could move to unknown sites or landfills. It said this would violate the dignity of the dead and the rights of families to know, mourn, and bury their loved ones.
The organization said around 8,000 people remain missing across Gaza, with hundreds believed to be buried under rubble, especially in Rafah. It stressed the urgent need to allow search and rescue teams, forensic experts, and specialized equipment to enter the area.
Euro-Med strongly rejected Israeli plans to reshape Rafah under the name of a “Green City,” warning that the project aims to forcibly concentrate Palestinians into a military-controlled zone. It said the plan would deepen displacement, block return to homes, and turn the area into a population ghetto.
The group said the plan violates international humanitarian law through forcible transfer, severe deprivation of liberty, discriminatory policies, mass property destruction, and the removal of rubble before bodies are recovered. It warned that the project would lock Palestinians into life-threatening conditions under military control.
Euro-Med called for immediate international pressure to halt all rubble removal in Rafah until a binding humanitarian mechanism is established. It also urged the creation of an independent international body to oversee body recovery, documentation, and identification across Gaza.
The group further called for banning the transfer of rubble outside Rafah before forensic surveys end and for providing technical support such as mobile DNA labs and a unified database for missing persons.
Finally, Euro-Med urged states to move beyond statements and take concrete action, including suspending military and security cooperation with Israel, imposing a full arms embargo, and halting any activities that enable ongoing violations against Palestinians.
