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The Star
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Hidden killers beneath Gaza's rubble
A Palestinian man inspecting the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent camp sheltering displaced people in Khan Yunis. — Reuters THE Gaza Strip is pockmarked with unexploded ordnance from Israel's relentless bombing campaign, creating what the US government describes as an 'uninhabitable' wasteland. The sheer scale of contamination is unprecedented in modern warfare. By October 2024, Israel had conducted over 40,000 airstrikes on the tiny coastal enclave. Conservative UN estimates suggest that between 5% and 10% of these munitions failed to detonate, leaving potentially thousands of deadly explosives hidden among 50 million tonnes of rubble. Gaza's desperate residents have already paid the price during makeshift clean-up efforts. In January, 15-year-old Saeed Abdel Ghafour was playing near Khan Yunis when a bulldozer struck a concealed bomb. The explosion left the teenager and the driver, Alaa Abu Jmeiza, permanently blinded in one eye. This wasn't an isolated incident. A child looking on at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent camp in Khan Yunis. — Reuters A UN-backed database records at least 23 fatalities and 162 injuries from unexploded ordnance since the war began – figures aid workers call 'just the tip of the iceberg' given most incidents go unreported. International demining organisations face insurmountable obstacles. From March-July 2024, Israel blocked import requests for over 2,000 critical demining tools – including armoured vehicles, explosives detectors and protective gear – according to documents compiled by demining organisations. 'The restrictions create serious unnecessary challenges,' said UN human rights spokesman Jeremy Laurence. Legal experts note Israel's obligations under the 1907 Hague Convention to clear explosive remnants, yet the military continues to deny equipment essential for safe removal. In Gaza City's Shati refugee camp, children kick footballs around piles of rubble where demolition crews dare not venture. 'We mark dangerous areas with spray paint when we find them,' said local volunteer Ahmed Nasser. 'But there's no system – just hope.' The UN Mine Action Service reports hundreds of visible threats including aircraft bombs, mortars, and rockets. More concerning are the 'deep-buried bombs' – multi-storey buildings collapsed onto unexploded munitions that could detonate during reconstruction. US-made Mark 84 bombs – 2,000-pound behemoths capable of killing everyone within a 31m radius – pose particular dangers. Journalists recently photographed two such bombs in Khan Yunis, their distinctive shape barely concealed beneath rubble. The Biden administration paused shipments of these bombs in 2023 over civilian safety concerns, only for the Trump administration to resume deliveries. Meanwhile, Gaza's police bomb disposal unit has lost 31 officers during the war, according to Hamas officials. For 49-year-old teacher Hani Al Abadlah, the war never ended. Returning to his Khan Yunis home after the January ceasefire, he discovered an unexploded bomb had penetrated three floors before embedding in sand beneath his hallway. 'My family refuses to come back,' said Al Abadlah, who now lives in the damaged structure with his brother. 'We sleep on upper floors, as far from the bomb as possible.' Municipal authorities lack the equipment to remove it. A coalition of UN agencies estimates that clearing Gaza's bombs could take a decade and US$500mil (RM2.1bil) – assuming Israel cooperates fully. By comparison, clearing Mosul after the 2016-2017 battle against ISIS took three years with superior resources and access. 'The damage in Gaza is like a massive earthquake with thousands of bombs mixed in,' said Greg Crowther of Mines Advisory Group. 'Rebuilding will take generations.' Near Deir al-Balah, murals commissioned by the Red Cross depict cartoon bombs alongside cheerful balloons – a desperate attempt to educate children about invisible dangers. One shows a boy thinking 'DANGER: war ordnance' as he eyes a suspicious object. For now, these crude warnings are Gaza's only defence against its hidden killers. As another generation grows up surrounded by rubble, the unexploded bombs beneath their feet serve as grim reminders that even when the shooting stops, the war isn't over. — Reuters
Jordan Times
03-04-2025
- General
- Jordan Times
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
JERUSALEM — War has left Gaza littered with unexploded bombs that will take years to clear, with children drawn to metal casings maimed or even killed when they try to pick them up, a demining expert said. Nicholas Orr, a former UK military deminer, told AFP after a mission to the war-battered Palestinian territory that "we're losing two people a day to UXO [unexploded ordnance] at the moment." According to Orr, most of the casualties are children out of school desperate for something to do, searching through the rubble of bombed-out buildings sometimes for lack of better playthings. "They're bored, they're running around, they find something curious, they play with it, and that's the end," he said. Among the victims was 15-year-old Ahmed Azzam, who lost his leg to an explosive left in the rubble as he returned to his home in the southern city of Rafah after months of displacement. "We were inspecting the remains of our home and there was a suspicious object in the rubble," Azzam told AFP. "I didn't know it was explosive, but suddenly it detonated," he said, causing "severe wounds to both my legs, which led to the amputation of one of them." He was one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returning home during a truce that brought short-lived calm to Gaza after more than 15 months of war, before Israel resumed its bombardment and military operations last month. For Azzam and other children, the return was marred by the dangers of leftover explosives. 'Attractive to kids' Demining expert Orr, who was in Gaza for charity Handicap International, said that while no one is safe from the threat posed by unexploded munitions, children are especially vulnerable. Some ordnance is like "gold to look at, so they're quite attractive to kids", he said. "You pick that up and that detonates. That's you and your family gone, and the rest of your building." Another common scenario involved people back from displacement, said Orr, giving an example of "a father of a family who's moved back to his home to reclaim his life, and finds that there's UXO in his garden". "So he tries to help himself and help his family by moving the UXO, and there's an accident." With fighting ongoing and humanitarian access limited, little data is available, but in January the UN Mine Action Service said that "between five and 10 percent" of weapons fired into Gaza failed to detonate. It could take 14 years to make the coastal territory safe from unexploded bombs, the UN agency said. Alexandra Saieh, head of advocacy for Save The Children, said unexploded ordnance is a common sight in the Gaza Strip, where her charity operates. "When our teams go on field they see UXOs all the time. Gaza is littered with them," she said. 'Numbers game' For children who lose limbs from blasts, "the situation is catastrophic", said Saieh, because "child amputees require specialised long-term care... that's just not available in Gaza". In early March, just before the ceasefire collapsed, Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza. That included prosthetics that could have helped avoid long-term mobility loss, Saieh said. Unexploded ordnance comes in various forms, Orr said. In Gaza's north, where ground battles raged for months, there are things like "mortars, grenades, and a lot of bullets". In Rafah, where air strikes were more intense than ground combat, "it's artillery projectiles, it's airdrop projectiles", which can often weigh dozens of kilograms, he added. Orr said he was unable to obtain permission to conduct bomb disposal in Gaza, as Israeli aerial surveillance could have mistaken him for a militant attempting to repurpose unexploded ordnance into weapons. He also said that while awareness-raising could help Gazans manage the threat, the message doesn't always travel fast enough. "People see each other moving it and think, 'Oh, they've done it, I can get away with it,'" Orr said, warning that it was difficult for a layperson to know which bombs might still explode, insisting it was not worth the risk. "You're just playing against the odds, it's a numbers game." Page 2
Asharq Al-Awsat
03-04-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Shiny and Deadly, Unexploded Munitions a Threat to Gaza Children
War has left Gaza littered with unexploded bombs that will take years to clear, with children drawn to metal casings maimed or even killed when they try to pick them up, a demining expert said. Nicholas Orr, a former UK military deminer, told AFP after a mission to the war-battered Palestinian territory that "we're losing two people a day to UXO (unexploded ordnance) at the moment." According to Orr, most of the casualties are children out of school desperate for something to do, searching through the rubble of bombed-out buildings sometimes for lack of better playthings. "They're bored, they're running around, they find something curious, they play with it, and that's the end," he said. Among the victims was 15-year-old Ahmed Azzam, who lost his leg to an explosive left in the rubble as he returned to his home in the southern city of Rafah after months of displacement. "We were inspecting the remains of our home and there was a suspicious object in the rubble," Azzam told AFP. "I didn't know it was explosive, but suddenly it detonated," he said, causing "severe wounds to both my legs, which led to the amputation of one of them." He was one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returning home during a truce that brought short-lived calm to Gaza after more than 15 months of war, before Israel resumed its bombardment and military operations last month. For Azzam and other children, the return was marred by the dangers of leftover explosives. 'Attractive to kids' Demining expert Orr, who was in Gaza for charity Handicap International, said that while no one is safe from the threat posed by unexploded munitions, children are especially vulnerable. Some ordnance is like "gold to look at, so they're quite attractive to kids", he said. "You pick that up and that detonates. That's you and your family gone, and the rest of your building." Another common scenario involved people back from displacement, said Orr, giving an example of "a father of a family who's moved back to his home to reclaim his life, and finds that there's UXO in his garden". "So he tries to help himself and help his family by moving the UXO, and there's an accident." With fighting ongoing and humanitarian access limited, little data is available, but in January the UN Mine Action Service said that "between five and 10 percent" of weapons fired into Gaza failed to detonate. It could take 14 years to make the coastal territory safe from unexploded bombs, the UN agency said. Alexandra Saieh, head of advocacy for Save The Children, said unexploded ordnance is a common sight in the Gaza Strip, where her charity operates. "When our teams go on field they see UXOs all the time. Gaza is littered with them," she said. 'Numbers game' For children who lose limbs from blasts, "the situation is catastrophic", said Saieh, because "child amputees require specialized long-term care... that's just not available in Gaza". In early March, just before the ceasefire collapsed, Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza. That included prosthetics that could have helped avoid long-term mobility loss, Saieh said. Unexploded ordnance comes in various forms, Orr said. In Gaza's north, where ground battles raged for months, there are things like "mortars, grenades, and a lot of bullets". In Rafah, where air strikes were more intense than ground combat, "it's artillery projectiles, it's airdrop projectiles", which can often weigh dozens of kilograms, he added. Orr said he was unable to obtain permission to conduct bomb disposal in Gaza, as Israeli aerial surveillance could have mistaken him for a militant attempting to repurpose unexploded ordnance into weapons. He also said that while awareness-raising could help Gazans manage the threat, the message doesn't always travel fast enough. "People see each other moving it and think, 'Oh, they've done it, I can get away with it,'" Orr said, warning that it was difficult for a layperson to know which bombs might still explode, insisting it was not worth the risk. "You're just playing against the odds, it's a numbers game."
Al Arabiya
03-04-2025
- General
- Al Arabiya
Unexploded munitions a shiny, deadly threat to Gaza children: Experts
War has left Gaza littered with unexploded bombs that will take years to clear, with children drawn to metal casings, maimed or even killed when they try to pick them up, a demining expert said. Nicholas Orr, a former UK military deminer, told AFP after a mission to the war-battered Palestinian territory that 'we're losing two people a day to UXO (unexploded ordnance) at the moment.' According to Orr, most of the casualties are children out of school, desperate for something to do, searching through the rubble of bombed-out buildings, sometimes for lack of better playthings. 'They're bored, they're running around, they find something curious, they play with it, and that's the end,' he said. Among the victims was 15-year-old Ahmed Azzam, who lost his leg to an explosive left in the rubble as he returned to his home in the southern city of Rafah after months of displacement. 'We were inspecting the remains of our home, and there was a suspicious object in the rubble,' Azzam told AFP. 'I didn't know it was explosive, but suddenly it detonated,' he said, causing 'severe wounds to both my legs, which led to the amputation of one of them.' He was one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returning home during a truce that brought short-lived calm to Gaza after more than 15 months of war, before Israel resumed its bombardment and military operations last month. For Azzam and other children, the return was marred by the dangers of leftover explosives. 'Attractive to Kids' Demining expert Orr, who was in Gaza for charity Handicap International, said that while no one is safe from the threat posed by unexploded munitions, children are especially vulnerable. Some ordnance is like 'gold to look at, so they're quite attractive to kids,' he said. 'You pick that up, and that detonates. That's you and your family gone, and the rest of your building.' Another common scenario involved people back from displacement, said Orr, giving an example of 'a father of a family who's moved back to his home to reclaim his life and finds that there's UXO in his garden.' 'So he tries to help himself and help his family by moving the UXO, and there's an accident.' With fighting ongoing and humanitarian access limited, little data is available, but in January, the UN Mine Action Service said that 'between five and 10 percent' of weapons fired into Gaza failed to detonate. It could take 14 years to make the coastal territory safe from unexploded bombs, the UN agency said. Alexandra Saieh, head of advocacy for Save the Children, said unexploded ordnance is a common sight in the Gaza Strip, where her charity operates. 'When our teams go on field, they see UXOs all the time. Gaza is littered with them,' she said. 'Numbers Game' For children who lose limbs from blasts, 'the situation is catastrophic,' said Saieh, because 'child amputees require specialized long-term care... that's just not available in Gaza.' In early March, just before the ceasefire collapsed, Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza. That included prosthetics that could have helped avoid long-term mobility loss, Saieh said. Unexploded ordnance comes in various forms, Orr said. In Gaza's north, where ground battles raged for months, there are things like 'mortars, grenades, and a lot of bullets.' In Rafah, where airstrikes were more intense than ground combat, 'it's artillery projectiles, it's airdrop projectiles,' which can often weigh dozens of kilograms, he added. Orr said he was unable to obtain permission to conduct bomb disposal in Gaza, as Israeli aerial surveillance could have mistaken him for a militant attempting to repurpose unexploded ordnance into weapons. He also said that while awareness-raising could help Gazans manage the threat, the message doesn't always travel fast enough. 'People see each other moving it and think, 'Oh, they've done it, I can get away with it,'' Orr said, warning that it was difficult for a layperson to know which bombs might still explode, insisting it was not worth the risk. 'You're just playing against the odds, it's a numbers game.'
Arab News
03-04-2025
- General
- Arab News
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
JERUSALEM: War has left Gaza littered with unexploded bombs that will take years to clear, with children drawn to metal casings maimed or even killed when they try to pick them up, a demining expert said. Nicholas Orr, a former UK military deminer, told AFP after a mission to the war-battered Palestinian territory that 'we're losing two people a day to UXO (unexploded ordnance) at the moment.' According to Orr, most of the casualties are children out of school desperate for something to do, searching through the rubble of bombed-out buildings sometimes for lack of better playthings. 'They're bored, they're running around, they find something curious, they play with it, and that's the end,' he said. Among the victims was 15-year-old Ahmed Azzam, who lost his leg to an explosive left in the rubble as he returned to his home in the southern city of Rafah after months of displacement. 'We were inspecting the remains of our home and there was a suspicious object in the rubble,' Azzam told AFP. 'I didn't know it was explosive, but suddenly it detonated,' he said, causing 'severe wounds to both my legs, which led to the amputation of one of them.' He was one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returning home during a truce that brought short-lived calm to Gaza after more than 15 months of war, before Israel resumed its bombardment and military operations last month. For Azzam and other children, the return was marred by the dangers of leftover explosives. Children are most vulnerable Demining expert Orr, who was in Gaza for charity Handicap International, said that while no one is safe from the threat posed by unexploded munitions, children are especially vulnerable. Some ordnance is like 'gold to look at, so they're quite attractive to kids,' he said. 'You pick that up and that detonates. That's you and your family gone, and the rest of your building.' Another common scenario involved people back from displacement, said Orr, giving an example of 'a father of a family who's moved back to his home to reclaim his life, and finds that there's UXO in his garden.' 'So he tries to help himself and help his family by moving the UXO, and there's an accident.' With fighting ongoing and humanitarian access limited, little data is available, but in January the UN Mine Action Service said that 'between five and 10 percent' of weapons fired into Gaza failed to detonate. It could take 14 years to make the coastal territory safe from unexploded bombs, the UN agency said. Alexandra Saieh, head of advocacy for Save The Children, said unexploded ordnance is a common sight in the Gaza Strip, where her charity operates. 'When our teams go on field they see UXOs all the time. Gaza is littered with them,' she said. Catastrophic situation For children who lose limbs from blasts, 'the situation is catastrophic,' said Saieh, because 'child amputees require specialized long-term care... that's just not available in Gaza.' In early March, just before the ceasefire collapsed, Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza. That included prosthetics that could have helped avoid long-term mobility loss, Saieh said. Unexploded ordnance comes in various forms, Orr said. In Gaza's north, where ground battles raged for months, there are things like 'mortars, grenades, and a lot of bullets.' In Rafah, where air strikes were more intense than ground combat, 'it's artillery projectiles, it's airdrop projectiles,' which can often weigh dozens of kilograms, he added. Orr said he was unable to obtain permission to conduct bomb disposal in Gaza, as Israeli aerial surveillance could have mistaken him for a militant attempting to repurpose unexploded ordnance into weapons. He also said that while awareness-raising could help Gazans manage the threat, the message doesn't always travel fast enough. 'People see each other moving it and think, 'Oh, they've done it, I can get away with it,'' Orr said, warning that it was difficult for a layperson to know which bombs might still explode, insisting it was not worth the risk. 'You're just playing against the odds, it's a numbers game.'
