US-led Board of Peace using Gaza funds to erase evidence of Israel's genocide: Analyst

A Palestinian analyst says US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace is directly funding rubble removal and road-paving operations across Gaza that are erasing evidence of Israel's genocide and paving the way for the annexation and Jewish settlement of the strip.

Palestinian researcher and political writer Muhammad Shehada of the European Council on Foreign Relations reported on 27 August that the so-called Board of Peace is “paying the expenses of the [Israeli military’s] covert transfer of rubble (mixed with dead bodies) out of Gaza.”

"The money is taken from Gaza's reconstruction funds," Shehada said in a post on X. To date, only the US, Morocco, and the UAE have provided any actual funding to the Board of Peace.

EU diplomats informed Shehada that “Israel has been quietly moving hundreds of thousands of tons of rubble mixed with dead bodies out of Gaza to bury evidence of its genocide.”

"When the EU asked Israel why or whether they filter human remains out of the rubble, no answer ever came," Shehada added.

By removing the rubble before a search for victims can be carried out with heavy equipment, Palestinians will not know whether their relatives are dead or abducted by Israeli forces and held in its network of torture centers.

Shehada indicates that proof of the Board of Peace's involvement in funding rubble removal is found in a tender document released by the board on 20 May 2026, which sought contractors for "leveling & compacting" work in Gaza.

Shehada reports that an Israeli company, Terra Firma, has been clearing rubble in Gaza using heavy machinery designed to crush debris and process it into dust, including to help the Israeli military build roads, specifically near Erez.

As a result, the Board of Peace "is actively paying, compensating, subsidizing, and aiding Israeli companies, contractors, the Israeli [military], and the Israeli [cabinet] for these rubble-removal and road-paving operations," the Gaza Herald wrote.

"These operations systematically erase evidence of war crimes and desecrate human remains," the Herald added, as no measures are taken to separate remains of victims from the debris or to preserve potential mass graves covered by the newly constructed roads.

US-led ‘Board of Peace’ breaches Gaza withdrawal terms, imposes new condition on Israeli pullback

US-led

At the same time, critical civilian infrastructure such as water networks, electricity systems, sewage facilities, hospitals, and bakeries remain deliberately unrepaired.

According to Dr. Ramy Abdu, a prominent Palestinian human rights advocate, the Board of Peace "acts as a structural cover for ongoing land seizures and displacement."

The Board of Peace was established in the wake of the October 2025 “ceasefire” backed by the US. President Trump declared that the board would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction, allegedly for the benefit of Palestinians.

However, over the past 10 months, "Israeli forces have stepped up a systematic campaign of erasure in the area of Gaza directly under their control," according to an investigation by the New Humanitarian.

"In this almost entirely depopulated zone, Israel has been tearing down whatever remains, setting fire to fields, and bulldozing towns and once-green agricultural communities into the ground," the New Humanitarian found.

The Israeli military's activity indicates it is creating "a blank slate" in Gaza and establishing infrastructure needed for the long-term occupation and ultimate annexation of the strip.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly made clear their intention to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its roughly 2 million Palestinians to pave the way for establishing settlements for Jewish Israelis to live in on the ruins of Palestinian cities and villages.

Palestinian authorities say Israel’s genocide has killed more than 73,375 Palestinians and injured over 174,220 others, most of them women and children, while destroying or damaging around 90 percent of civilian infrastructure. The United Nations estimates the cost of rebuilding Gaza at approximately $70 billion.

Since the so-called ceasefire deal was signed, at least 1,250 Palestinians have been killed and another 4,110 injured in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir