It could take over 14 years to clear debris in war-ravaged Gaza: UN official

A senior official with the UN Mine Action Service said on Friday (Apr 26) that there are some 37 million tonnes of debris to clear away in the war-ravaged Gaza once the Israeli offensive is over and it could take over 14 years to clear it.

Pehr Lodhammar of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said that it was impossible to clearly state how much of the ammunition fired in Gaza remained live. Lodhammar, who has run mine programmes in countries such as Iraq, further noted that unexploded ordnance buried in the rubble would complicate the work of clearing the cities.

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While speaking to journalists in Geneva during the launch of the 2023 annual report Friday, Lodhammar said, "We know that typically there is a failure rate of at least 10% of land service ammunition. What we do know is that we estimated 37 million tonnes of debris, which is approximately 300 kilos of debris per square metre."

The Israel-Hamas war started after the Paletine-based militant group launched a shock incursion into southern Israel in which they killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. It is believed that Hamas is still holding 129 hostages out of the 253 it took on October 7. In retaliation, Israel started the war against Hamas and began themilitary offensive.

So far in the war, at least 34,305 Palestinians have been killed and 77,293 wounded, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Gaza infrastructure damages estimated at $18.5bn

Earlier this month, a new report by the World Bank and the United Nations found that the cost of damage to critical infrastructure in the first four months of the ongoing war in Gaza is estimated at $18.5 billion.

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According to the report, the damage caused by missile strikes and bombardments estimated that the damage was equivalent to 97 per cent of the combined GDP of the occupied West Bank and Gaza in 2022.

"The level of destruction in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 is unprecedented," the Interim Damage Assessment Note said further mentioning that such costs "are expected to increase substantially along with the magnitude of damages" as the conflict continues.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)