UN warns Gaza body recoveries may be 'tip of the iceberg'

The United Nations human rights office has warned that the bodies recovered from Gaza's rubble so far may represent only a fraction of those still buried, as recovery teams struggle with severe shortages of equipment and access restrictions.

Speaking in Geneva, Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the recovery of extensive human remains — mostly of children and women — almost three years after their homes were heavily bombed underscored concerns over compliance with international law and the possibility that serious violations, including war crimes, may have been committed.

"The remains recovered so far may only be the tip of the iceberg," Al-Kheetan said, noting that much of Gaza has been flattened by bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives.

Ajith Sunghay, who heads the UN human rights office for the occupied Palestinian territory, said remains believed to belong to 96 people from three Palestinian families were recovered from under the rubble in Gaza City this month, around half of them women and children.

One family, the Malakas, lost 72 members in airstrikes on their homes in November 2023. Only three bodies were recovered at the time, while remains believed to belong to 55 more family members were among those found this month.

Sunghay estimated that at least 8,000 bodies remain buried under rubble across the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Civil Defence teams have recovered over 800 bodies since a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, despite severe shortages of equipment, fuel and personnel. At that pace, completing the recovery of the remaining bodies would take at least ten more years — and even longer when accounting for the time needed to identify them, if ever possible.

He said Israeli authorities have been blocking the entry of heavy machinery and trained personnel needed for large-scale recovery. Palestinian Civil Defence teams report having only one excavator left and having to dig through rubble with their bare hands.

Even when bodies are recovered, families are often unable to identify them. Sunghay said Israel has been blocking the entry of forensic and identification tools such as DNA and fingerprint kits, leaving families to identify remains by physical characteristics or by guessing based on the location of the recovery.

"Recovering and burying the victims does not substitute for establishing the circumstances in which they were killed," Al-Kheetan said. "These attacks must be effectively investigated. Where violations are established, those responsible must be held to account."

Sunghay warned that the situation risks the loss of evidence needed to ensure accountability for atrocity crimes and prolongs the anguish of thousands of families. "They have a right to know the fates of their children, parents, siblings, cousins," he said. "They have a right to mourn them with dignity. And they have a right to justice."

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday killed two people and wounded several others, hospital officials and the health ministry said. The heaviest fighting between Israel and Hamas has subsided since a ceasefire last October, but Israeli fire has killed more than 1,360 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials in the territory.