Explosive remnants of war continue to pose a serious risk to civilians and impede humanitarian operations

All affected schools were assessed and cleared and risk awareness campaigns are ongoing

Over the course of hostilities, significant numbers of unexploded aircraft bombs, tank shells and other ammunition, from both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups, have been reported in civilian areas across the Gaza Strip. While the exact level of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) contamination is unknown, based on the scope of damage to buildings and a minimum failure rate of 10 per cent, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated that a minimum of 7,000 explosive items remain to be secured or destroyed.

ERW and other explosive hazards pose a serious threat to the civilian population and to humanitarian and UN workers. Concentrated in the remains of destroyed or damaged infrastructure, ERWs impede initial clean-up of densely populated areas and public spaces. In addition, as observed in Gaza in 2009, civilian casualties due to ERW increase substantially in the six months following an escalation. Seven civilians have been killed and 14 injured so far since the end of the most recent hostilities.

Following a call by the Secretary-General, UNMAS deployed to Gaza on 27 July 2014 as part of the first emergency phase and expects the intervention to last at least until the end of 2016. By the end of September, UNMAS had completed 210 risk assessments and cleared 197 sites at the request of UN agencies. UNMAS has so far inspected over 300 items (approximately 40 tons) and defused 16 aircraft bombs at the request of UNRWA.

Risk assessments and clearance tasks are prioritized according to pre-defined criteria. To date, all requests from UN agencies have been addressed, including 100 per cent of UNRWA affected schools and 21 government schools, the Rafah border crossing, the Gaza power plant, and 70 critically important UN humanitarian facilities. These activities have enabled children to return to schools in an environment free of ERW and humanitarian workers to resume emergency assistance programmes.

In parallel, UNMAS continues to provide ERW education. It has facilitated the distribution of 15,000 flyers to individuals and families living or working in the areas surveyed by UNMAS; delivered ERW risk education to 4,000 UN staff, humanitarian workers, IDPs, UNRWA teachers and civilians in at-risk areas; and plans to deliver ERW risk education training of trainers (TOT) to 1,000 teachers in UNRWA schools. In coordination with UNMAS, UNICEF is carrying out similar activities in government schools.

UNMAS has taken the lead in establishing an ERW operational response coordination mechanism in Gaza to ensure all assessment and risk education activities are coordinated for maximum coverage. Weekly awareness briefings are organised for UN and NGO staff.

* This article was contributed by UNMAS