The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed statements by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calling for international investigators to be granted full access to Gaza to gather and preserve evidence of war crimes and genocide.
The UN’s call follows reports that over 630 bodies and human remains have been recovered from under destroyed buildings across Gaza since late 2025, with an estimated 8,000 victims still buried beneath 61 million tons of debris. UN officials highlighted that ongoing clearance operations, combined with severe Israeli restrictions on forensic equipment, heavy machinery, and DNA kits, are severely impeding identification efforts and risking the destruction of critical evidence of atrocity crimes.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We welcome the United Nations’ urgent call for international investigators to be granted unrestricted access to Gaza to document, secure, and preserve evidence of the Israeli government’s genocidal campaign and war crimes.
“For years, Palestinian families have endured the heartbreaking agony of searching for loved ones under millions of tons of rubble, often forced to dig with their bare hands due to blockades on essential recovery equipment. The international community must act immediately to ensure that evidence of these atrocities is preserved, that forensic teams are permitted to identify the dead with dignity, and that those responsible for these monumental violations of international humanitarian law are held fully accountable.”
CAIR reiterated its call on the United States and the international community to demand an end to all blockades preventing heavy machinery and forensic tools from entering Gaza, support international legal accountability mechanisms, and push for a lasting end to the destruction of Palestinian civilian life and infrastructure.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]