A United Nations team assesses the damage to medical facilities in Gaza.
United Nations demining experts said today that it could take 14 years to re-free Gaza from the threat of unexploded ordnance.
Pehr Lodhammar, a senior official in the UN Mine Action Division, said the war had an estimated 37 million tonnes of debris and wreckage.
He noted that after nearly seven months of intensive Israeli bombardment, previously densely built and densely populated communities had been destroyed, so it was not possible to determine the exact amount of unexploded ordnance.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Perl Lodhamar said that in the conflict-affected Gaza, there are about 200 kilograms of rubble per square meter.
He said at least 10 percent of the ammunition fired could not be functional...... With 100 trucks, it would take people 14 years to clear the rubble – about 750,000 working days to clear the rubble.
Call on Hamas to release the hostages
Meanwhile, leaders of 18 countries, including the United States, called on Thursday for the release of all remaining hostages taken during a terrorist attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,250 people.
Israel reportedly believes that more than 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza following the attacks of 7 October last year, and that the resulting Israeli bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 34,350 Palestinians and injured more than 77,360, according to health authorities in the region.
The threat of famine remains
At the same time, UN humanitarian personnel reiterated their warning of looming famine in the northern Gaza Strip and urged that more aid be allowed into the area.
Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, said: "We are still heading towards famine, we have yet to see the paradigm shift needed to avoid famine, and we need more volume, greater predictability and sustained efforts to provide more diverse aid to the north. ”
Israeli strikes have reportedly been carried out in the eastern part of Rafah. Skoo stressed that there remains a deep concern that any ground incursion into the southernmost city in the region could jeopardize the already inadequate distribution of aid.
The flotilla appealed
At the same time, UN human rights experts called on Israel to provide safe passage for a fleet carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The "Free Gaza Flotilla" plans to travel from Turkey to the besieged Gaza Strip with 5,500 tons of aid and hundreds of international humanitarian observers.
As the fleet approaches Palestinian territorial waters near Gaza, Israel must comply with international law, including a recent order from the International Court of Justice, to ensure unhindered humanitarian access as the fleet approaches Palestinian territorial waters near Gaza, human rights experts said.
Experts note that in 2010, Israel intercepted and attacked civilian vessels of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" in international waters, killing 10 passengers and injuring many others. At that time, the flotilla tried to break the Israeli blockade and provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council are not United Nations staff members and are independent from any government or organization, work in their personal capacity, and are not remunerated for doing so.
