UN says scale of destruction in Gaza much greater than in Ukraine

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated that the amount of debris and rubble in the Gaza Strip stood at 37 million tonnes in mid-April, or 300 kilograms per square metre. It is, said the organisation, much greater than the amount left by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“Gaza has more rubble than Ukraine, and to put that in perspective, the Ukrainian front line is 600 miles [nearly 1,000 kilometres] long, and Gaza is 25 miles [40 km] long,” explained Mungo Birch, the head of the UNMAS programme in the Palestinian territories. However, the volume of rubble is not the only problem.

“This rubble is likely to be heavily contaminated with UXO [unexploded ordnance], but its clearance will be further complicated by other hazards,” Birch told journalists in Geneva. “There’s estimated to be over 800,000 tonnes of asbestos, for instance, in the Gaza rubble.” The carcinogenic mineral used in construction requires special precautions when being handled.

Birch said that he hopes that UNMAS will eventually be able to act as a coordinating body for clearing mines in Gaza and establish its own teams to dismantle mines and bombs.

UNMAS has secured $5 million but needs a further $40m to continue its work in Gaza over the next 12 months. “The sector as a whole will need hundreds of millions of US dollars over multiple years to make Gaza safe again for the population,” added Birch.

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