Palestinian children stand next to empty or unexploded US-manufactured ammunition after an Israeli army withdrawal from Khan Younis [GETTY]
There are reportedly thousands of unexploded munitions fired by the Israeli army scattered across the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media.
Unnamed senior officers told Israel’s Channel 12 that the Israeli army launched an investigation to determine whether unexploded devices were used to make a bomb that killed three Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza on Wednesday.
Three soldiers were killed, and three others were injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded under a tank in Beit Hanoun.
The Israeli army has dropped over 70,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza since the start of its indiscriminate war on the territory in October 2023.
10 percent, -over 7,000 tonnes – remain unexploded, posing a further risk to the lives of the Gaza Strip’s people.
According to Channel 12, Israel’s air force alone has dropped almost 30,000 bombs since 7 October 2023, while thousands dropped did not detonate.
The report also added that some weapons supplied by the US, Israel’s largest weapons supplier, were found to have technical issues. Almost 40 percent were “were unguided or ‘dumb’ bombs” – the report says.
The broadcaster also claimed that Hamas fighters have used the unexploded ordinance to create IEDs, using expertise gained from Hezbollah and Iran.
Unexploded ordnance remains one of Gaza’s biggest long-term problems, with estimates saying Israel drops almost 500 bombs a day.
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) reported in April 2024 that there are almost 7.500 tonnes of unexplained ordinance scattered across Gaza, and that they would take up to 14 years to be removed.
Analysis indicated that maybe thousands of more Palestinians could die even after the fighting ends because of this.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 46,537 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardment which has utterly devastated the territory. Israel has also severely restricted critical aid, bringing the territory to the brink of famine..
According to the BBC, while Israel is one of the world’s major exporters of military equipment, its army relies on imported aircraft, guided bombs, and missiles to carry out what experts say is one of history’s most intense and destructive aerial campaigns.
