Gaza at ‘most dangerous’ stage amid huge unexploded weapons risk, warns demining expert

while mine clearance experts warned that the Strip is now at its “most dangerous period”.

“This is the most dangerous period; once people start returning to the north, that's when most accidents will occur, because they won't be familiar with where your unexploded ordnance is located,” said Mungo Birch, Chief of the UN Mine Action Programme (UNMAS) in the State of Palestine. “It's important that once the returns start, we're poised and ready to be able to provide the risk education they need.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the 27th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers in Geneva, head of UN peacekeeping and mine action Jean-Pierre Lacroix underscored that the Organization stood with UNMAS in its support for “humanitarian efforts, to convoys” and risk assessment.

A humanitarian ceasefire remains a “priority”, insisted the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations and Chair of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action, along with providing “much more humanitarian assistance to Gaza”, once deminers and weapons experts deem that it is safe to do so.

Amid reports that it will take some 14 years to clear Gaza of all the rubble created by the conflict, Mr. Birch noted that there are an estimated 37 million tonnes in total. “To put that in context, that's more rubble than in Ukraine.  In Ukraine, the front is 600 miles. Gaza is 25 miles long. It's also 87 per cent urbanised, so it's very densely packed construction.”

This includes some 800,000 tonnes of asbestos, “as well as various other contaminants”, he said. “…the problem is there’s more rubble in Gaza than there is space to spread it out,” Mr. Birch continued, describing how Israeli bombing sparked by Hamas-led attacks on Israel and rocket fire led to the destruction.

“There were lulls, but the bombardment was like nothing I ever experienced. I was with a colleague who had been in Ukraine, in the Ukrainian security forces, he said the bombardment was worse than anything he'd experienced in the Donbass.”

Rubble recyling for ‘the day after’

To tackle the issue of rebuilding Gaza after the fighting stops, Mr. Birch noted that recycling of the rubble “will figure heavily” in any reconstruction. 

“I mean, people are already talking about ‘the day after’, quote unquote, for Gaza,” he added, noting that a “rubble removal” workshop was held two weeks ago in Jordan with UN agencies including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and other partners.

Despite the astonishing scale of the clearance operation ahead, UNMAS has just $5 million in funding. Another $40 million will be needed over the next 18 months just to start the process of clearance.

Worldwide, 60 million people in 60 countries live under constant fear of landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance, said UN peacekeeping chief Lacroix. They “do not know whether they will spend the day without being hit by a mine or an IED and who don't know basically you know whether they will make it to the next day or whether their children or their relatives will make it to the next day - and that is really unacceptable.”