Gaza's Hidden Menace: Unexploded Ordnance Amidst Ruins

The Gaza Strip remains perilous due to undetonated explosives from over 40,000 Israeli airstrikes, posing major rebuilding challenges. International efforts to clear the remnants are hindered by restrictions on essential equipment imports, amid concerns over the occupied territory’s uninhabitable state and continuous military engagements.

Gaza Strip's landscape is perilously littered with unexploded ordnance from more than 40,000 Israeli airstrikes, rendering it nearly uninhabitable. The presence of these lethal remnants challenges reconstruction efforts and poses a constant threat to civilians navigating through what was once home.

Efforts to clear these explosives are stymied by stringent Israeli regulations blocking the import of crucial demining equipment. This has drawn international concern, pressuring Israel, which as an occupying power, is obligated under international law to facilitate the removal of these dangers.

Local and international stakeholders are caught in a quagmire of humanitarian and bureaucratic barriers. As bomb remnants persist among Gaza's urban ruins, experts predict it could take a decade and $500 million to rid the strip of these threats, prolonging the agony of its besieged population.

(With inputs from agencies.)