Gazans at long-term risk from war remnants: NGO

Published November 25,2024

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International humanitarian NGO Danish Refugee Council warned on Monday that Gazans are at long-term threat from unexploded and unused ordnance within the densely populated Palestinian territory.

“These remnants of war, which fail to detonate upon impact or may have been abandoned during warfare, pose a long-term threat to civilian populations, often causing injuries and deaths long after the fighting ceases,” stated DRC’s Corinne Linnecar.

The NGO, which has a presence within the Gaza Strip, stated in a report that ammunition, exploded or in any other case, will be discovered in lots of populated areas of the territory.

The report stated 70 p.c of Gazans have returned to areas the place there was lively fight, elevating the danger of their coming into contact with explosive materiel.

With the territory within the grip of a humanitarian disaster and little or no help getting in, Gazans in determined want of primary items have “sifted through rubble for essential supplies” however the place they’ll additionally encounter munitions.

Longer-term healthcare providers are additionally almost non-existent, DRC stated.

“Only 19 percent of explosive ordnance victims receive emergency first aid, and long-term medical support is virtually non-existent,” the report stated, noting that youngsters are particularly in danger as a result of they’ll confuse munitions with toys.

“Israel is using weapons indiscriminately in civilian areas over and over again, in a way that is in violation of international humanitarian law,” Linnecar instructed AFP.

Even earlier than the present battle, explosive ordnance was already an issue in Gaza, after repeated Israeli bombardment over time.

“The remnants of war will continue to claim lives long after the fighting ceases,” DRC stated.

The battle in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted within the deaths of 1,206 individuals, principally civilians, in line with an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory marketing campaign in Gaza has killed no less than 44,235 individuals, most of them civilians, in line with knowledge from the territory’s well being ministry, which the United Nations considers dependable.