Is Israel erasing evidence of alleged war crimes in Gaza? A visual investigation | CBC Accessibility

Families tell CBC News the bodies of relatives were in buildings destroyed and cleared by Israel

Satellite imagery shows Israel compacting and removing rubble and debris from Gaza, with possible human remains and potential evidence of war crimes still trapped under it, a CBC News visual investigation of several sites has found.

Families in Gaza say this prevents them from retrieving the bodies of loved ones trapped under the ruins.

UN officials have raised concerns in recent weeks that Israel is not properly handling rubble — and bodies that may still be under it — left by strikes in the almost three-year conflict sparked by the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to preserve evidence of alleged violations of the UN Genocide Convention in Gaza.

UN rights chief says uncovered remains in Gaza raise concerns of war crimes

Israeli clearance of Gaza rubble could destroy evidence of 'atrocity crimes,' says UN expert

In a statement to CBC News, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it clears structures and dismantles infrastructure in Gaza "based on tactical necessity" and to "reduce the level of risk posed" to its troops. It says this activity is "carried out in accordance with operational necessity, the provisions of international law, and IDF directives."

Families that CBC News spoke to say no one contacted them about the retrieval of the bodies before or after the IDF removed the rubble from their homes.

"Impossible … This is our area?" Dalal Faraj told CBC News, looking at satellite imagery of her former neighbourhood. "Where did the houses go? Where are my husband and son?"

In October 2023, as the war picked up pace, Faraj left her home in Shuja'iya, a neighbourhood in Gaza City. Her husband, Taha, 48, and son Nasr, 16, told her to take the five younger children and head to a safer location. Taha and Nasr told her they would catch up when they could.

The satellite images that CBC's visual investigations team was able to gather show the buildings that once stood in Faraj's neighbourhood are all gone.