Amman, Dec 10 (Petra)- Head of the UN Mine Action Programme (UNMAS) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) Julius van der Walt said Wednesday that war remnants and unexploded ordnance are hindering a return to normal life in Gaza, with children being the most vulnerable group.

Van der Walt told reporters that unexploded ordnance poses a severe threat to civilians, particularly as hundreds of thousands move following the ceasefire. He noted that "over two years of intense Israeli attacks on Gaza have left widespread contamination with explosive materials, hampering humanitarian aid delivery, slowing sector recovery, making reconstruction efforts highly dangerous, and posing a direct threat to civilian lives."

He added that there are no precise data on the full extent of explosive contamination in Gaza, but strong indicators suggest it is widespread across most areas.

The UN Mine Action Service has been operating in Gaza since October 2023.

"Since then, we have identified more than 650 hazardous items in the areas we could access, the vast majority of which were unexploded ordnance," van der Walt said, emphasizing that avoiding explosive remnants is nearly impossible under such circumstances.

//Petra// AF

10/12/2025 23:16:14