In the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has committed genocide, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and explosive remnants of war continue to pose a grave threat to Palestinian lives, threatening to claim more lives and cause permanent disabilities, amid a lack of equipment or capabilities to deal with them.

Despite a relative lull in military operations, thousands of tons of bombs and explosives dropped on civilians over the course of more than fifteen months have turned into time bombs buried amid the rubble, exacerbating the suffering of people forced to pitch their tents amid the rubble of their destroyed homes.

Since the ceasefire began on January 19, the Gaza Strip has witnessed numerous incidents of unexploded ordnance (UXO) exploding, resulting in deaths and injuries in several areas, according to medical reports.

Among the injured was officer Bilal al-Mabhouh (37 years old), a member of the Gaza Police Explosives Engineering Department, who lost his sight as a result of an explosive device exploding during a work mission in Jabalia, north of the Strip.

Al-Mabhouh is in the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City after being hit by shrapnel in his face, eyes and body, leaving him completely blind.

Al-Mabhouh told Anadolu Agency that his administration receives dozens of reports daily about the presence of unexploded shells and other objects in the streets, homes, and facilities that have been bombed.

He added that on March 5, he led an explosives engineering team to inspect the site of a previous explosion on Mazaya Street, east of Jabalia, which injured three children.

Al-Mabhouh added, "While we were listening to citizens' testimonies and inspecting the site, a new explosion took me by surprise, throwing me to the ground covered in blood."

He pointed out that the occupation forces used various types of Israeli and American munitions, some of which were unfamiliar to explosives experts in Gaza. He added, "Our work did not stop throughout the months of war, despite the repeated bombing and targeting."

He explained that they had been collecting the waste in a special warehouse in northern Gaza, but it was demolished and bulldozed by the Israeli army during the ground operation in Jabalia.

He added, "All of our workplaces were destroyed, as was the place where we collected the remains and debris of unexploded missiles, along with the simple equipment we used in our work."

For his part, Colonel Mohammed Al-Zarqa, the Gaza police spokesman, revealed that there are estimated to be more than 30,000 explosive remnants of war scattered throughout the Strip, posing a catastrophic threat to the lives of civilians.

Al-Zarqa told Anadolu Agency that these objects constitute time bombs that threaten the lives of citizens, and that significant resources are required to remove them and neutralize their danger.

He added that the police explosives engineering teams operate with extremely limited resources, and a complete lack of safety procedures, equipment, and even vehicles to remove dangerous objects from their locations.

He explained that, "Given this difficult reality, engineering personnel are forced to partially deal with the waste by removing the detonators and transporting the objects to a location far from the population," adding that they need to be inspected and then destroyed, but that this is currently impossible due to a lack of resources.

He continued: "Small objects are being removed, while heavy bombs are simply secured around them and civilians are prevented from approaching them until they can be evacuated."

Al-Zarqa pointed out that the thousands of tons of ammunition and bombs dropped on Gaza during the months of war require enormous capabilities to deal with them, through engineering surveys of all areas in the Gaza Strip.

The police spokesman called on the international community and relevant institutions to urgently intervene to supply the Gaza Strip with specialized equipment for explosives engineering, to neutralize the threat posed by unexploded ordnance to the lives of residents.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 160,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.