Before Israel’s current war on Gaza, the deadliest of the previous four Israeli assaults on the Strip occurred in 2014. Over 50 days, Israel killed at least 2,251 Palestinians and injured 11,231 others. Israel destroyed or damaged vital infrastructure, including hospitals, roads, food production facilities, and utility services, as well as homes. By the time a ceasefire was reached, Gaza required some $4 billion for rebuilding and creating a suitable living environment. And horrifically, the nearly two months of bombardment also left more than 7,000 items of abandoned or unexploded ordnance.
Explosive ordnance refers to military weapons and ammunition used in war. The term “explosive remnants of war (ERW)” refers to ordnance that fails to detonate upon use or is left behind—either exposed or, more dangerously, hidden under rubble or underground after active conflict ends. ERW include stockpiles of ammunition (which can accidentally explode) as well as cluster munitions and landmines (both of which are widely outlawed due to their inherently indiscriminate nature, yet remain as leftovers of wars in many countries). ERW also encompass unexploded ordnance (UXO), which are bombs, rockets, mortars, grenades, and other munitions that failed to detonate; and abandoned ordnance (AXO), which were left behind or dumped by a warring party. It is almost impossible to know not only where ERW are located, but also how much is left in a conflict area, making cleanup efforts very difficult.
The effects of ERW are profound. For example, in Laos explosive ordnance (mostly cluster munitions) has killed or injured more than 50,000 people since 1964. Experts estimate that another 50 years will be needed to clear this small country. But it does not even take an active warzone for ERW to pose a danger. In Hawaii, where military training camps ceased operations after World War II, munitions continue to be discovered in neighborhoods and schools despite decades of clean-up efforts.
An Obstacle to Gaza Reconstruction
In Gaza, suffering through four massive Israeli military campaigns since 2007, ERW have caused significant disruption to daily life. Just since 2014, approximately 8,700 pieces of ERW have been removed and destroyed. But the current Israeli assault, deemed a plausible genocide by the International Court of Justice and many global experts, has been the most devastating, killing an estimated 40,000 people so far (likely a vast undercount, according to a study recently published in the authoritative medical journal The Lancet) and injuring tens of thousands more. The Israeli war has damaged or destroyed almost two-thirds of homes in Gaza, along with 84 percent of health facilities. All told, the destruction has left a projected 26 million tons of debris and rubble. Assessments indicate the damage thus far is at least $18.5 billion.
When a permanent ceasefire is reached and the rebuilding of Gaza can begin, the international community must prioritize clearing debris to ensure safety of the general population and the workers tasked with reconstruction. It is one thing to clear piles of rubble—a painstaking process that takes years but is not typically deadly. Identifying, removing, and destroying thousands of ERW is another problem entirely—not just difficult, but extremely dangerous. Unexploded bombs may be buried underground or under piles of rubble and may inadvertently detonate during clearing or reconstruction.
According to the 2003 Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War, each “party to an armed conflict shall mark and clear, remove or destroy explosive remnants of war in affected territories under its control.” Yet, while the State of Palestine is a signatory to the protocol, Israel is not. Israel’s approach to ERW is part and parcel of its overall approach to Palestinians—namely that Israel perceives it has no obligations to them.
Dangers of Unexploded Ordnance
According to experts, the sheer scale of bombardment in Gaza is unprecedented. Israel has a seemingly endless supply of 500-, 1000-, and 2000-pound bombs (many provided by the United States) and of unguided (known as “dumb”) bombs and controversial “bunker buster” bombs not meant to be deployed in populated urban areas. Israel has been criticized for using such powerful explosives. Indeed, many argue that the use of such weapons in civilian areas is a war crime due to their indiscriminate nature.
And the danger of these bombs does not end upon detonation. In just the first three months of the current Gaza war, it is estimated that Israel dropped at least 45,000 bombs on the enclave, between 9 and 14 percent of which may have failed to detonate. This suggests there are at least thousands of UXO throughout Gaza—one expert guessed that the number reaches “high tens of thousands.” This shocking figure does not even include grenades or other munitions that Israeli soldiers abandoned as they occupied Palestinian homes, schools, and other infrastructure after forcing civilians to evacuate.
Israel dropped at least 45,000 bombs on Gaza, 9%–14% of which failed to detonate.
While photos from Gaza show large unexploded bombs that landed in people’s homes or in the streets, not all dangerous munitions are so large and easily identifiable. Between the large unexploded bombs and the unknown risks of other munitions, one UN arms expert working in Gaza argued that “one of the most dangerous times is when people return home.”
The risk of explosion is the most acute, but explosive ordnance poses many environmental threats even if it is not detonated. The shells are usually made of heavy metals that can contaminate soil, water, and air, leading to disorders like anemia and cancer and harming animals and plant life. Explosive residues can also cause contamination that can last for years, meaning that people who were unaffected by initial bombing can still suffer years later because they ate or drank from contaminated sources. This can render large chunks of land unsuitable for use long after bombing stops and may leave many parts of Gaza unable to grow crops or raise livestock, posing a huge barrier to food sovereignty as well as to economic development efforts. The marine impacts of UXO can also be significant: as a coastal territory, Gaza is highly dependent on fishing as a source of food and income.
A Difficult Clearance Process
In early May 2024, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated that it would take at least 14 years to clear Gaza of ERW. This was before the current Israeli offensive into Rafah, which had previously been one of the least bombed parts of Gaza and one where hundreds of thousands of people were sheltering. How is a besieged territory, home to over 2 million people who have been displaced, injured, traumatized, starved, and otherwise deprived of the conditions necessary to live, meant to deal with the immense task of clearing thousands of unexploded ordnance? Even worse, in contrast to many war zones where some areas remain safe for habitation while others are cleared, no part of Gaza is unaffected.
In the past, bomb disposal squads working for Gaza’s interior ministry deployed to sites of unexploded bombs. Originally trained by the United States, and with support from UNMAS since 2009, these squads have worked in Gaza since 1996. Unlike their counterparts elsewhere, Israel’s blockade has deprived them of adequate protective gear or advanced equipment, and none of the local Gaza technicians have been permitted to leave the Strip for training. And Israel does not allow the resources required to clear ordnance through controlled burns or detonations and to clean soil and other environmental contaminants to enter Gaza.
Moreover, most external groups that support clearance efforts are currently focused on Ukraine. Plus, identifying and clearing UXO is expensive. UNMAS estimates that it may take 30 contractors one month to find and defuse a single bomb in Gaza, at a cost of $40,000. UNMAS is currently working with a budget of $5 million for Gaza, but starting the clearance process will require at least $40 million more. Yet funds for such efforts are increasingly limited. With myriad urgent global humanitarian priorities today, it is unclear who will pay for the extraordinary efforts needed to make Gaza habitable again.
Most foreign ordinance disposal groups are currently focused on Ukraine.
UNMAS is already working in Gaza, prioritizing humanitarian efforts such as escorting aid convoys or medical missions (for example, evacuating newborn babies from Al Shifa Hospital). The Service has begun conducting assessments of ERW hazards and attempting to mark dangerous areas and to alert local populations, including by offering specialized trainings for workers who directly interact with rubble. At present, most clearing efforts involve only dragging the unexploded bombs away from populated areas with whatever local tools are available. One explosives expert working with the International Committee of the Red Cross reported using climbing gear and fishhooks to gently pull the bombs out of the way. Speaking of his inability to destroy these bombs, he said, “we just have to leave them there. I find that quite disturbing, that we can’t help them any other way.”
What is Next for Gaza?
Any talk of rebuilding in Gaza is premature at this time: robust efforts cannot begin until a durable ceasefire is reached. At present, there are so many unknowns—chiefly, when Israel will stop bombing and what Gaza will look like when that happens. But as experts have been warning, the end of the bombing represents the beginning of multiple other processes. One of the most underappreciated yet most foundational tasks is clearing bombs and other munitions from the territory. When will this happen, and where will people live while it does? When can farmers start replanting their crops, and when will fishermen feel safe eating and selling their catch? And who will pay for all of it?
Through bombing, famine, health system collapse, and multiple other means, Israel is imposing suffering across all sectors of life in Gaza. The presence of EWR ensures that there will also be stories of children playing near explosives and being injured, or worse. There will be workers clearing rubble who inadvertently trigger a hidden bomb, and people who unknowingly eat or drink from sources that are slowly poisoning them. Along with rebuilding everything from homes to hospitals, housing displaced people, providing health care for people deprived of basic needs for nearly a year—in essence, rebuilding an entire society—the people of Gaza need to first make sure that the land is simply safe for them to be on. Indeed, this crisis is representative of the entirety of the Palestinian struggle.
The views expressed in this publication are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab Center Washington DC, its staff, or its Board of Directors.
Featured image: Shutterstock/Anas Mohammed
