Gaza an Open Minefield: 20,000 Unexploded Ordnance Threaten the Lives of Thousands of Children

The world commemorates the International Day for Mine Awareness on April 4th each year, while the residents of the Gaza Strip live a tragic reality where their cities and camps have turned into open minefields. Explosive objects are no longer confined to military areas but now lie in wait for children and displaced persons among the rubble of homes and in abandoned playgrounds, leaving permanent physical injuries and psychological scars that do not heal.

Fifteen-year-old Muhammad Abu Maala embodies a chapter of this suffering after losing his right hand and sustaining a severe leg tear when he tampered with a strange object he found near his home in the Nuseirat camp. This incident, which occurred months ago, transformed the life of the academically excelling boy into complete isolation, as he now faces continuous physical pain and an urgent need for complex surgeries to install prosthetic joints.

In a similar incident in Deir al-Balah city, Nour al-Jayyar and four children from his relatives sustained varying injuries after a suspicious object, which looked like a plastic piece, exploded. Shrapnel led to the amputation of parts of Nour's fingers and injured his siblings and relatives in various parts of their bodies, necessitating their enrollment in intensive psychological support programs to cope with the violent traumas they experienced.

Official estimates issued by the Government Media Office in Gaza indicate the presence of more than 20,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the Strip. This high number reflects the scale of the threat in a small geographical area not exceeding 365 square kilometers, making Gaza one of the most contaminated areas with explosives in the world relative to its population.

For its part, the Ministry of Health recorded the martyrdom of seven citizens, including five children, and the injury of about 50 others due to the explosion of war remnants during the past period. Medical sources confirm that the actual numbers may be much higher, given that many injured receive treatment in field hospitals without accurate documentation of the direct cause of injury.

Sources in the Rapid Response Unit reported that the volume of war remnants is enormous and dangerous, while specialized teams lack the minimum capabilities needed to deal with them. The sources explained that the occupation targeted warehouses and equipment designated for transporting and storing ammunition, which led to a decline in the technical teams' capabilities to less than 10% of what they were before the war.

Specialized technicians in explosive ordnance disposal face existential risks, with 17 technicians out of 65 martyred since the beginning of the aggression. These teams currently work without adequate protective equipment or advanced detection devices, making every intervention to neutralize a suspicious object a suicidal mission fraught with great dangers.

Civil Defense in Gaza, in turn, warned that the Strip has become like a large minefield, with unexploded rockets and mines scattered under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Civil Defense sources confirmed that teams are forced to work in unsafe environments while recovering victims, which could lead to sudden explosions when heavy machinery collides with invisible remnants.

The danger is not limited to residential areas but extends to agricultural lands where farmers discover explosive objects while plowing. These remnants hinder the return to normal life and prevent farmers from utilizing their lands for fear of explosions that could occur at any moment, adding a new economic burden on the shoulders of the besieged population.

Children are the most vulnerable group due to their natural curiosity, as some war remnants appear in tempting shapes resembling food cans or soft drink bottles. Reconnaissance aircraft also dropped small containers that children tampered with, thinking they were toys, leading to humanitarian disasters and multiple amputations.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, in cooperation with the Palestinian Red Crescent, is implementing intensive awareness programs to reduce these incidents. These campaigns target shelters and displaced persons' gatherings, where parents and children are taught how to identify suspicious objects, the necessity of staying away from them, and reporting them immediately to the competent authorities.

Despite awareness efforts, there remains an urgent need to introduce advanced equipment and specialized international mine clearance teams to clear residential areas. The continued presence of these munitions means that the war has not ended for the residents of Gaza, as latent death under the soil continues to threaten anyone who tries to rebuild their home or return to their normal life.

The suffering of the injured is exacerbated by the collapse of the health system and the difficulty of traveling abroad for treatment or fitting prosthetics. Many children who have lost limbs face an unknown future due to the lack of wheelchairs and specialized medical equipment that would help them adapt to their new disabilities.

The international community is called upon to act urgently to pressure for the introduction of necessary equipment to neutralize this imminent danger and provide support to mine victims. Without a comprehensive and large-scale clearance operation, Gaza will remain a scene of deferred death, claiming innocent lives even after cannons and planes cease their bombardment.

The Gaza Strip currently resembles a minefield, and the most dangerous challenge facing civil defense teams is dealing with these munitions inside targeted buildings.