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UN warns unexploded Israeli ordnance poses great risk to Gaza children

Wednesday, 10 December 2025 7:19 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 10 December 2025 7:19 PM ]

A displaced Palestinian boy sits on an unexploded Israeli shell at a temporary camp for displaced Palestinians in central Gaza City. (File Photo)

Julius Van der Walt, Chief of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the occupied Palestinian Territory, has warned that unexploded ordnance left behind after Israel’s two-year genocidal war on the Gaza Strip poses a grave threat to civilians returning home, with children most at risk.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Van der Walt said that the systematic Israeli attacks have contaminated much of the densely populated besieged enclave with explosive remnants.

Given the impossibility of wholly avoiding these remnants under current conditions, he warned residents returning to their homes to exercise extreme caution and report any suspicious or movable objects immediately.

The UN official also said that there is no comprehensive data on the full extent of explosive contamination in Gaza. Since the Mine Action Programme began operations in October 2023, it has already identified 650 hazardous items.

Van der Walt emphasized that Gaza’s small geographical area and high population density make the risk particularly acute compared with other conflict zones.

He also warned that the remaining war remnants were seriously hampering humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts.

Israel’s genocidal campaign has left much of Gaza in ruins. Thousands of airstrikes, combined with ground incursions and controlled demolitions, have damaged or destroyed more than 123,000 buildings across the besieged strip.

Report: 7,000 tons of unexploded Israeli ordnance in Gaza pose great danger to civilians

Unexploded Israeli ordnance in Gaza has surpassed 7,000 tons, posing a long-term danger to civilians that could persist for decades.

The rubble is laced with unexploded ordnance—bombs, missiles, rockets, and artillery shells that failed to detonate.

Meanwhile, living conditions for Gaza’s more than two million residents remain dire. Most Palestinians are sheltering in tents pitched in overcrowded displacement camps and navigating streets still strewn with debris.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, it has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, including 21,000 children, and wounded 171,000 others.

Despite a ceasefire that began on October 10, Israel’s war on Gaza continues unabated, with more than 600 violations of the ceasefire reported in the last few weeks.

Israel has killed more than 360 Palestinians since the truce went into effect, according to Gaza authorities. Among the dead are at least 70 children, UNICEF reported.

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