Israel systematically destroyed over 93% of Gaza Strip cemeteries amid ongoing genocide, warns Watchdog

Gaza: Euro Med Human Rights Monitor (Euro Med Monitor) said it has documented that the Israeli army destroyed 93.5% of cemeteries in the Gaza Strip, e...

Gaza: Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med Monitor) said it has documented that the Israeli army destroyed 93.5% of cemeteries in the Gaza Strip, either completely or partially, in the context of the ongoing genocide since October 2023.

In a statement, Euro-Med Monitor said the systematic targeting of graves through demolition and bulldozing constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and reflects a deliberate pattern of erasure.

These actions violate the sanctity of the dead, erase physical traces, inflict severe psychological and spiritual harm on the living, and ultimately undermine collective memory while severing historical ties between the population, their ancestors, and their land.

The Euro-Med Monitor team analyzed data from 62 official cemeteries across the Gaza Strip's five governorates. The findings show that the Israeli army completely bulldozed and destroyed graves in 39 cemeteries (approximately 62.9% of the total) and partially damaged 19 others (approximately 30.6%). Only four cemeteries, or 6.4%, remain intact.

The statement noted that the widespread, direct destruction of cemeteries in the Gaza Strip was neither incidental to military operations nor justified by "military necessity." Rather, it was a deliberate and planned effort to obstruct the identification and documentation of remains.