Palestinian foreign minister stresses need to clear unexploded ordnance in Gaza
Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, the Palestinian minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, has warned that the “widespread presence” of unexploded ordnance in Gaza amid Israel’s continued bombardment “poses a direct threat to civilians’ lives”.
It also “hinders the delivery of humanitarian aid, and delays recovery and reconstruction efforts”, the minister said, according to a readout of a meeting between Palestinian officials and international agencies working on efforts to clear the ordnance.
The United Nations has estimated that Israel’s two-year military assault on Gaza has created 61 million tonnes of rubble. According to preliminary assessments from September of last year, the UN also said it could take up to 20 years to remove the debris, at a cost of as much as $909m.
Apparently not just in Gaza
Palestinian child injured by unexploded ordnance in Masafer Yatta
A Palestinian child has been injured by an explosive ordnance in the Khirbet Jinba town in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, Wafa reported.
Eleven-year-old Khalil Ayman Raba’I was injured when the object exploded while he was playing near his family’s home, according to the Palestinian news agency, two days after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.
Masafer Yatta has been the target of repeated settler and army attacks as Israel has intensified efforts to expand its authority over the occupied West Bank. The cluster of towns, located south of Hebron, was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.
