News- Middle East: An international NGO specializing in mine clearance has warned that unexploded Israeli munitions continue to pose a deadly, persistent threat to Palestinians in Gaza.

Handicap International said on Tuesday that critical demining equipment must be allowed into the territory without delay, warning that Israeli restrictions are preventing the safe removal of lethal remnants scattered across the enclave.

“The risks are enormous. An estimated 70,000 tons of explosives have been dropped on Gaza” since the start of the genocide on October 7, 2023, said Anne-Claire Yaeesh, the organization’s director.

From undetonated bombs and grenades to stray bullets, the aftermath of Israeli bombardment has turned Gaza into one of the most heavily contaminated areas on earth.

“The layers of rubble and levels of accumulation are extremely high,” Yaeesh added, noting that “the risks are aggravated by the extremely complex nature of the environment, due to the limited space in densely populated urban areas.”

Unexploded ordnance now lies buried beneath the ruins of homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza.

In January, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated that between “5 to 10 percent” of munitions fired on Gaza had failed to detonate.

Since then, the enclave endured nine more months of relentless Israeli bombardment, including a large-scale offensive launched in mid-September on Gaza City.

A ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and the Israeli regime, the third since the start of the genocidal assault, came into effect on Friday.

UNMAS reported that since the ceasefire began, requests for technical expertise “have surged,” with the agency deployed on “a range of humanitarian missions, including to areas that were previously inaccessible.”

In the coming days, the agency said, “a large part of the efforts will focus on ensuring the safety of debris management operations” and clearing rubble, particularly along roads used by displaced families returning to what remains of their homes.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday that humanitarian teams would “assess key roads for explosive hazards.”

However, UNMAS noted that it has “a limited number of armored vehicles on the ground, which means that we can only conduct a certain number of explosive hazard assessments each day.”

The UN agency also stated that the Israeli regime continues to block authorization for bringing in the essential equipment needed to clear and destroy unexploded ordnance, a deliberate act of obstruction that further endangers civilian lives in Gaza.

Currently, three armored vehicles are “at the border waiting to enter Gaza,” vehicles that could significantly expand the scale and safety of demining operations, the UNMAS reported.

Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,938 Palestinians, injuring 170,169 others, the overwhelming majority being women and children.

Even after the ceasefire took effect, the death toll continues to rise as more bodies are being recovered from beneath the rubble.

Experts estimate that the death toll may rise exponentially once the dead bodies under the debris are counted.

Source: Press TV