A UN body has estimated that at least 7,000 explosive items remain to be secured or destroyed in the Gaza Strip, following Israel’s attack over the summer.
The figure from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is contained in the latest monthly report on the Occupied Palestinian Territories by UN OCHA, published yesterday.
In the aftermath of an Israeli assault unprecedented in scale and ferocity, UNMAS has stressed that Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) “continue to pose a serious risk to civilians and impede humanitarian operations.”
Basing their assessment on “the scope of damage to buildings and a minimum failure rate of 10 per cent”, UNMAS believe there to be “a minimum of 7,000 explosive items” that “remain to be secured or destroyed.” These are “concentrated in the remains of destroyed or damaged infrastructure.”
UNMAS cite seven civilian fatalities and 14 injuries due to ERW since the end of hostilities in late August. Last Wednesday, a four-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by unexploded Israeli ordnance, with Maanreporting him to be the tenth person killed by such ordnance.
According to UNMAS, having deployed to Gaza on 27 July, they expect “the intervention to last at least until the end of 2016.” By the end of September, 197 sites had been cleared, and 16 aircraft bombs had been defused at the request of UNRWA.
UNMAS is also providing education to Palestinians in Gaza concerning unexploded ordnance, such as the distribution of 15,000 flyers in critical areas.
UNMAS collaborates with various UN bodies to provide a coordinated response to the problems of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs).