In a written statement on bodies and human remains recovered from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, Türk said numerous remains, most of them belonging to women and children, had been painstakingly recovered nearly three years after homes were destroyed in heavy bombardments.
Türk said the events raised serious concerns about compliance with international law and heightened fears that grave violations, including war crimes, may have been committed.
More than 8,000 people estimated missing under Gaza rubble
Türk said remains belonging to entire families may be being uncovered in areas flattened by Israeli attacks. Saying that relatives who had been missing for a long time were being forced to confront the worst possibility, Türk warned that the remains recovered could represent only the visible part of a much larger picture.
Türk said much of Gaza had been flattened either by bombardment or through demolition and clearance operations carried out using heavy machinery and explosives. He expressed concern that, in areas where the Israeli army was deployed, bodies were being removed from the rubble with bulldozers and that the remains were not being treated with respect in the process.
Türk said Gaza's Civil Defense reported that more than 630 bodies and human remains had been recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings between November 2025 and September 2026. He said the Civil Defense estimated the total number of people missing under the rubble at more than 8,000.
Call for evidence preservation and identification of remains
Emphasizing that every effort must be made to document and identify the victims, Türk called for forensic information and biological samples to be preserved, the locations where remains were buried to be recorded, and families to be informed.
Pointing to ongoing legal proceedings concerning the conduct of hostilities in Gaza, Türk said it was vital to preserve evidence of violations, including in areas that had been destroyed. He also called for international inspectors to be allowed access to all parts of Gaza to support this work.
Türk said Israel had not allowed heavy machinery needed for rubble-removal operations to enter Gaza. He said efforts to recover remains from beneath the rubble were making both the scale of the destruction nearly three years earlier and the pain of the uncertainty endured by families for years more visible.
Call for investigations and accountability in Gaza
Türk said families' right to learn the fate of their relatives was not limited to identification and dignified burial, adding that they had the right to learn the full truth about what had happened.
Türk recalled that Israel had obligations under international law to search for, recover and evacuate missing people and bodies. He stressed that remains in areas where Israeli soldiers were deployed must be recovered with dignity and that potential evidence must be preserved.
Türk said the attacks must be effectively investigated and that those responsible must be held accountable if violations were established. He called on all countries to press for greater cooperation and coordination to ensure that bodies are recovered in a dignified and humane manner throughout Gaza.
