UN demining expert: Gaza’s unexploded ordnance could take 14 years to clear

GENEVA- Pehr Lodhammar, a senior officer from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), said that the Israeli aggression on Gaza has left an estimated 37 million tons of debris, WAFA News Agency reported.

He said it was impossible to determine the exact amount of unexploded ordnance in the strip where formerly heavily built-up and densely populated neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, after nearly seven months of intense Israeli bombardment.

Every square meter in Gaza impacted by the conflict contains some 200 kilograms of rubble, the veteran UN demining expert told journalists in Geneva.

“All I can say is that at least 10 percent of the ammunition that is being fired potentially fails to function…we’re talking about 14 years of work with 100 trucks, so that’s 14 years for their removal with about 750,000 workdays – person workdays – to remove the debris.”