Unexploded ordnance in Gaza poses "enormous" risks for displaced people returning home during the US-led ceasefire, the NGO Handicap International warned, calling for the entry of equipment needed for demining operations.
"The risks are enormous — an estimated 70,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on Gaza since the start of the war," said Anne-Claire Yaeesh, the organisation's director for the Palestinian territories.
Handicap International specialises in mine clearance and assistance to victims of anti-personnel mines.
Unexploded ordnance, ranging from undetonated bombs or grenades to simple bullets, has become a common sight across Gaza during the two-year Israeli genocidal war.
"The layers of rubble and levels of accumulation are extremely high," Yaeesh said.
‘Humanitarian missions’
She warned that the risks were aggravated by the "extremely complex" nature of the environment, given Gaza’s dense urban areas and limited open space.
In January, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated that between five and ten percent of the munitions fired on Gaza had not exploded.
The latest ceasefire, the third since the carnage began, came into effect on Friday.
UNMAS said that since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, requests for technical expertise "have surged", and the agency has been called upon for "a range of humanitarian missions, including to areas that were previously inaccessible."
The agency said it has three armoured vehicles "at the border waiting to enter Gaza" to allow safer and larger-scale clearance operations, but is still awaiting Israeli authorisation to bring in the required equipment.
