International organization: Gaza is an open minefield

Clearing Gaza of unexploded ordnance will likely take 20 to 30 years, an official with the aid group Humanity and Inclusion said, describing the territory as an “open minefield.”

A UN database showed that more than 53 people were killed and hundreds injured by unexploded ordnance from the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. Aid groups believe this number is significantly lower.

A US-brokered ceasefire has raised hopes that the massive task of removing the ordnance from millions of tons of rubble could begin.

“If you’re looking to completely remove the rubble, it’s never going to happen. It’s underground. We’ll still be finding it for generations,” said Nick Orr, an explosive ordnance disposal expert with the organization, likening the situation to British cities after World War II. “Removing it from the surface is something that could be done within a generation, I think 20 to 30 years,” he added. “It would be solving a very small part of a very big problem.”  Orr, who has visited Gaza several times during the conflict, is part of a seven-person team from the organization that will begin next week locating remnants of war within essential infrastructure there, such as hospitals and bakeries.

However, Orr said that aid organizations, including his organization, have not yet received comprehensive permission from Israel to begin removing and destroying munitions or importing the necessary equipment.