UN: Unexploded ordnance in Gaza endangers civilians, with children most at risk

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (YPA) – Julius Van Der Walt, Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, warned that war remnants and unexploded ordnance are obstructing the return of normal life in Gaza, with children being the most at risk.

In a press statement on Wednesday, Van Der Walt said that unexploded ordnance in Gaza poses a serious threat to civilians, especially as hundreds of thousands return to their homes and neighborhoods following the ceasefire.

He noted that more than two years of intensive Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have left widespread contamination with explosive materials, negatively affecting the delivery of humanitarian aid, slowing the recovery of the sector, and making reconstruction work extremely dangerous, in addition to directly threatening civilian lives.

Van Der Walt explained that UN teams face explosive hazards almost daily across different areas of the Gaza Strip, and families moving within Gaza are at risk from these materials.

He emphasized that children are the most vulnerable, as is the case in most conflict zones worldwide, due to their curiosity and tendency to touch unexploded ordnance without understanding the danger.

@E.Y.M