A United Nation (UN) official said that clearing huge amount of debris, including unexploded ordnance left over from the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, may take around 14 years.
The announcement was made by Pehr Lodhammar, senior officer at the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) during a press conference in Geneva on Friday, April 26.
The war has left an estimated 37 million tonnes of debris in the highly populated area, said Lodhammar.
After nearly seven months of continuous Israeli shelling, he claimed it was hard to pinpoint the precise amount of unexploded munitions in the enclave where formerly massively built-up and densely populated districts have been reduced to rubble.
“All I can say is that at least 10 percent of the ammunition that is being fired potentially fails to function…with 100 trucks we’re talking about 14 years of work with 100 trucks, so that’s 14 years to remove with about 750,000 workdays – person workdays – to remove the debris.”
Every square metre in Gaza impacted by the conflict contains some 200 kilogrammes of rubble, the veteran UN demining expert told journalists in Geneva.
For its part, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) said that living conditions in Gaza are “rapidly deteriorating,” noting the high risk of infectious diseases due to high temperatures and water scarcity in the city of Rafah, which is home to 1.2 million people.
It pointed out that humanitarian workers need more support and unhindered access to alleviate suffering and save lives.
Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.
Since then, over 34,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children, have been killed and 77,000 others injured.
