The large amount of debris, including unexploded ordnance, left by Israel's devastating war in the Gaza it could take around 14 years to be removed, a United Nations official said on Friday (26).
Israel's military campaign against the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, which governs the Strip Gazaleft much of the narrow coastal territory of 2.3 million people in ruins, with most civilians homeless, hungry and at risk of disease.
Pehr Lodhammar, a senior official at the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), told a meeting in Geneva that the war left around 37 million tonnes of debris in the largely urbanized and densely populated territory.
He stated that although it was impossible to determine the exact number of unexploded ordnance found in Gazait was projected that it could take 14 years, under certain conditions, to clear debris, including rubble from destroyed buildings.
“We know that typically there is at least a 10% failure rate of ground service ammunition that is being fired and doesn’t work,” he said. “We are talking about 14 years of work with 100 trucks.”
Hamas sparked the war with an incursion into southern Israel in which the militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli records. Hamas is believed to still be holding 129 hostages out of the 253 it took on October 7.
At least 34,305 Palestinians were killed and 77,293 injured in Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7, according to the Ministry of Health of Gaza.
Source: CNN Brasil
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