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GENEVA: Clearing the surface of Gaza of unexploded ordnance will likely take between 20 to 30 years, according to an official with aid group Humanity & Inclusion, describing the enclave as a “horrific, unmapped minefield.”
More than 53 people have been killed and hundreds injured by lethal remnants from the two-year Israel-Hamas war, according to a UN-led database, which is thought by aid groups to be a huge underestimate.
A US-brokered ceasefire this month has raised hopes that the huge task of removing them from among millions of tons of rubble can begin.
“If you’re looking at a full clearance, it’s never happening, it’s subterranean. We will find it for generations to come,” said Nick Orr, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal expert at Humanity & Inclusion, comparing the situation with British cities after World War Two.
“Surface clearance, now that’s something that’s attainable within a generation, I think 20 to 30 years,” he added.
“It’s going to be a very small chipping away at a very big problem.”
Orr, who went to Gaza several times during the conflict, is part of his organization’s seven-person team that will begin identifying war remnants there in essential infrastructure like hospitals and bakeries next week.
For now, however, aid groups like his have not been given blanket Israeli permission to start work on removing and destroying the ordnance nor to import the required equipment, he said.
COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military overseeing Gaza aid, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It blocks items into Gaza which it considers have “dual use” — both civilian and military.
Orr said it was seeking permission to import supplies to burn away bombs rather than detonate them, to ease concerns about them being repurposed by Hamas.
He voiced support for a temporary force such as one foreseen in the 20-point ceasefire plan.
“If there is going to be any kind of future inside of Gaza, there needs to be an enabling security force that allows humanitarians to work,” Orr said.
 

NEW YORK CITY: The US permanent representative to the UN, Mike Waltz, on Thursday urged Iran to abandon what he described as the “false hope of revolution,” and its regional ambitions.
It came as the UN vowed to intensify its efforts to achieve a two-state solution and end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
“The international community must urge the Iranian regime to give up on its false hope of revolution, and forego its ambitions on its neighbors,” Waltz told the UN Security Council during an open debate on the Middle East.
He called on Tehran to “engage in direct, good-faith dialogue with the United States for the benefit of the Iranian people and the security of the region.”
Waltz reiterated Washington’s support for the reimposition of UN “snap-back” sanctions on Iran, and framed President Donald Trump’s recent “20-Point Plan for Peace” between Israelis and Palestinians as part of a broader push to end regional conflict and reshape the Middle East.
“With President Trump’s plan, we are closer than ever to realizing the Middle East that generations dreamt of — a region of peace, prosperity, harmony, opportunity, innovation, achievement,” he said.
His remarks came as UN officials described a fragile calm in Gaza following the Oct. 10 ceasefire and hostage-release agreement brokered under Trump’s plan.
The UN’s deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Ramiz Alakbarov, told the council the UN would continue to advocate for a two-state solution.
“The United Nations will continue to support all efforts to end the occupation and resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in line with international law and UN resolutions,” he said.
“This means realizing a two-state solution; Israel and Palestine, of which Gaza is an integral part, living side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders on the basis of pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.”
Alakbarov praised the US, Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye for their mediation help in what he described as the “remarkable diplomatic effort” that brought an end to the bloodiest phase of the conflict in decades.
But he warned that the situation remains “extremely fragile” and a return to violence “must be avoided at all costs.”
He said aid deliveries to Gaza had increased by 46 percent during the first week of the ceasefire but described the humanitarian needs in the territory as “staggering,” citing the widespread displacement of the population and lack of access to basic services. The UN, he added, has launched a 60-day emergency response plan to accelerate relief efforts and restore essential services.
Waltz said the peace would only hold if Hamas disarms and abides by the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
“The job is not done,” he told the council. “Hamas must immediately return the bodies of the 13 remaining hostages, including the bodies of American citizens Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, as promised under the agreement. … Their families deserve dignity.”
He added that Hamas “must likewise follow through on its commitment to disarm. Simply put: Hamas is finished in Gaza and does not have a future there.” Failure to comply, he warned, would have “severe consequences.”
Waltz condemned what he described as “extremely disturbing and bloody executions” carried out in Gaza by Hamas in recent days.
“This is further evidence that Hamas is unfit to rule the Gaza Strip and cannot be trusted with the safety of the people in Gaza for a moment longer,” he said.
He also criticized the recent opinion from the International Court of Justice on Israel’s obligations in Gaza, calling it “a nakedly political — but fortunately non-binding — ‘advisory opinion,’ unfairly bashing Israel and giving UNRWA (the UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees) a free pass for its deep entanglement with Hamas’ terrorism.”
Alakbarov welcomed the finding of the court, which he said underscored the need for humanitarian access to Gaza. He announced that Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and the UN plan to co-host a Cairo Reconstruction Conference “to advance recovery and reconstruction for Gaza.”
He added: “We are at a momentous but precarious juncture. Political will, financial resources and a genuine commitment to creating a better future for all are needed.”