The head of the UN Mine Action Programme in the Palestinian Territories, Julius van der Walt, stated that children are the most vulnerable group to the dangers of unexploded ordnance and remnants of war, emphasizing that these are hindering the return to normalcy in Gaza.
In a press statement on Wednesday, van der Walt pointed out that unexploded ordnance in Gaza poses a grave threat to civilians, especially given the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people following the ceasefire.
He explained that “more than two years of intensive Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have resulted in widespread contamination with explosive materials, negatively impacting the delivery of humanitarian aid and slowing the Strip’s recovery.”
He noted that this makes reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip extremely dangerous, in addition to posing a direct threat to civilian lives.
The UN official stated that the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has been operating in Gaza since October 2023, noting that they have identified more than 650 hazardous items in the areas they have been able to access, the vast majority of which were unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices.
