GENEVA: War-torn Gaza is heavily contaminated by unexploded ordnance, which frequently kill and maim people and could threaten recovery efforts far into the future, the UN said Friday. Unexploded ordnance, ranging from undetonated bombs or grenades to simple bullets, has become a common sight in the Gaza Strip since the start of Israel&#39;s war on Gaza. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said it had data suggesting that since the start of the conflict, more than 1,000 people had been killed in Gaza due to &quot;indirect conflict&quot;, from the remnants of war. Julius Van der Walt, UNMAS chief in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, stressed that that number was certainly a severe under-estimate. Half of the known casualties were children, he told reporters in Geneva. Speaking alongside him at a press conference on mine action work worldwide, Narmina Strishenets of Save the Children UK, also highlighted the heavy toll on youngsters. A report by the organization published last year found that in 2024, the use of explosive weapons in Gaza left an average of 475 children each month with potentially lifelong disabilities, including amputations. Today, Strishenets said, Gaza has &quot;the largest cohort of child amputees&quot; in the world. &#39;High density&#39; Van der Walt said UNMAS had so far been unable to conduct an extensive survey of the full scope of the problem, but &quot;the evidence already suggests a high density of explosive ordnance contamination across the Gaza Strip&quot;. So far, UNMAS had identified &quot;more than 1,000 items of explosive ordnance&quot;, during missions conducted over the past 2.5 years. Compared to Gaza&#39;s small geographic size, that means there is about one piece of explosive ordnance &quot;every 600 meters&quot;, he pointed out. And those are only the items that have been found. &quot;We have barely scratched the surface in understanding what is the level of contamination,&quot; he acknowledged. Adding to the danger was Gaza&#39;s very high population density. Prior to the war, Gaza was one already of the most densely-populated places on Earth, with around 6,000 people per square kilometer, Van der Walt said, pointing out that the war had effectively halved the space available, and doubled the density. &quot;Explosive weapons are being used all across the territories, including in densely-populated refugee camps,&quot; he said, pointing to a recent case where explosive ordnance was found inside a tent where people had been living for several weeks. At the same time, &quot;humanitarian convoys risk detonation as they travel throughout the Gaza Strip, and early recovery efforts are essentially stalled before they can even begin&quot;, he said. $541 million Van der Walt pointed to an assessment that, in a best-case scenario, it will cost around $541 million to address the explosive ordnance threat, if all necessary permissions are granted and the equipment required is accessible. He warned that the contamination, including within mountains of debris, was so vast and so varied, that it was &quot;very close to impossible to ... do a full assessment&quot;, and that ordnance would likely remain a problem for decades to come. He pointed to the World War II bombs that continue to be discovered during construction projects in Britain. &quot;We can anticipate something along those lines&quot; in Gaza, he said.

People inspect a destroyed civilian vehicle after it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike that reportedly killed three people on Salah al-Din Street, south of Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on April 23, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

UN warns unexploded ordnance across Gaza is killing and injuring civilians, including children, and could delay recovery for decades, with contamination widespread and cleanup estimated to cost hundreds of millions.

Unexploded bombs littering Gaza threaten recovery for decades, UN warns

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ISLAMABAD: The Palestinian Ministry of Health has revealed that 6,000 registered amputation cases in Gaza are in dire need of both immediate and long-term rehabilitation support.&nbsp;In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry said that children make up around 25% of all amputation cases. In comparison, women represent 12.7%, figures that underscore the heavy toll on vulnerable segments of society.&nbsp;The ministry warned that a severe shortage of medical equipment, assistive devices, and rehabilitation facilities has worsened the suffering of thousands of wounded Palestinians, many of whom are unable to access essential treatment.&nbsp;&ldquo;These figures reflect a deep humanitarian tragedy affecting thousands of injured Palestinians and their families,&rdquo; the ministry said, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive physical rehabilitation as well as psychological and social support, particularly for children living with lifelong disabilities.&nbsp;The health ministry appealed to international and humanitarian organizations, as well as health and rehabilitation institutions, to intensify emergency efforts and expand medical assistance to ensure the wounded receive adequate care amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Says children make up around 25% of all amputation cases; women represent 12.7%.

Articles tagged with "Gaza amputees"

Unexploded bombs littering Gaza threaten recovery for decades, UN warns

6,000 amputees in Gaza need urgent rehabilitation: Palestinian health ministry