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JERUSALEM: Unexploded ordnance in Gaza poses “enormous” risks for displaced people returning home during a US-led ceasefire, the NGO Handicap International warned Tuesday, calling for the entry of equipment needed for demining.
“The risks are enormous — an estimated 70,000 tons of explosives have been dropped on Gaza” since the start of the war, said Anne-Claire Yaeesh, the organization’s director for the Palestinian territories.
Handicap International specializes in mine clearance and assistance to victims of anti-personnel mines.
Unexploded ordnance, ranging from undetonated bombs or grenades to simple bullets, has become a common sight in the Gaza Strip during the two years of the war, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“The layers of rubble and levels of accumulation are extremely high,” Yaeesh said.
She warned that the risks are aggravated by the “extremely complex” nature of the environment, due to the limited space in densely populated urban areas.
In January, the UN’s Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated that “5 to 10 percent” of the munitions fired on Gaza had not exploded.
Since then, fighting has continued, with the Israeli army notably launching a large-scale operation in mid-September in Gaza City.
A ceasefire, the third since the start of the war, came into effect on Friday in the Gaza Strip.
Contacted by AFP, UNMAS said that due to restrictions imposed over the past two years, its teams had “not been able to conduct large-scale survey operations in Gaza,” and the agency therefore does not have “a comprehensive picture of the (explosive ordnance) threat in the Strip.”

- Explosive hazards on roads -

Nicholas Orr, a former UK military deminer who worked in Gaza for Handicap International, told AFP in March that he was unable to obtain permission to conduct bomb disposal in Gaza, as Israeli aerial surveillance could have mistaken him for a militant attempting to repurpose unexploded ordnance into weapons.
UNMAS nonetheless stressed that since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10 requests for technical expertise “have surged,” and the agency has been called upon for “a range of humanitarian missions including to areas that were previously inaccessible.”
In the coming days, “a large part of the efforts will focus on ensuring the safety of debris management operations” and clearing rubble, particularly along the roads used by the thousands of displaced people returning home.
While the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday that humanitarian workers would “assess key roads for explosive hazards,” UNMAS stated that it has “a limited number of armored vehicles on the ground which means that we can only conduct a certain number of explosive hazard assessments each day.”
The United Nations agency also said it had not yet obtained authorization from Israeli authorities to bring in the necessary equipment for the destruction of unexploded ordnance.
At the moment, UNMAS said it had three armored vehicles “at the border waiting to enter Gaza, which will allow safer and larger-scale operations.”

RIYADH: Portugal’s Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel has praised the Trump administration’s success in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, calling the Gaza peace deal a breakthrough that has brought “huge progress on the ground.”

Speaking to Arab News in Riyadh, Rangel said the agreement, which saw the release of hostages and prisoners and a halt to two years of bloodshed, represents a historic turning point for the region and a long-awaited opportunity to relaunch peace efforts.

He cautioned, however, that the truce remains fragile and will require sustained international support. “Every peace process is always so fragile, so delicate,” he said.

“We saw that the hostages were released, the ceasefire is being implemented. And, of course, there will be difficulties because these processes are very, very difficult.”

US President Donald Trump hailed a “tremendous day for the Middle East” on Monday as he and regional leaders signed a declaration cementing a Gaza ceasefire after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners.

Trump made a whirlwind visit to Israel, praising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before flying to Egypt for a summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, where he and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye signed as guarantors of the deal.

The agreement commits signatories to pursue “comprehensive and durable peace” in Gaza, though it avoids mention of a one- or two-state solution.

Under the plan, Hamas freed 20 surviving hostages in exchange for 1,968 Palestinian prisoners. However, the truce remains fragile. Hamas has yet to disarm, Israel has not pledged full withdrawal, and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis persists.

“The implementation of the Trump plan is really a success. But we have to be very realistic and at the same time also optimistic,” said Rangel.

“We are here today because something happened last weekend, and so we should not now try to put very, very dark clouds on the horizon. We should really be optimistic, knowing that every peace process is always so fragile, so delicate that we cannot give up in any case.”

Portugal formally recognized the State of Palestine on Sept. 21 — a move Rangel described as the culmination of longstanding policy and of the diplomatic momentum created by the UN conference co-chaired by ������Ƶ and France, which resulted in the New York Declaration.

On the question of recognition and the UN process, Rangel highlighted the role played by the international conference on the two-state solution.

“We have worked closely to get a strong declaration on the two-state solution, together with France and ������Ƶ as co-chairs of this movement,” he said. “And that led Portugal to recognize Palestine.”

Asked whether Portugal’s recognition of Palestine was a tactical response to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza or a long-overdue fulfilment of policy, Rangel was unequivocal that recognition was rooted in Portugal’s consistent external policy.

“This was decided in the framework of this conference that was held under the UN umbrella, co-chaired by France and ������Ƶ. But this represents the long way that Portugal has developed across the last 50 years.

“We were always very much in favor of the two-state solution. This is a constant of Portuguese external policy.”

Rangel said the timing reflected a sense of urgency. “We moved forward because we were very aware that with the conflict in Gaza, with the developments in the West Bank, that even the idea of a new Palestinian state was at risk. Was at stake.

“And so to make a recognition was the only manner to show that we have to defend this idea because it’s the only solution for this conflict in the medium run and in the long run.”

He stressed that recognition should be paired with practical measures: humanitarian access to Gaza, reconstruction plans, and an international effort to ensure a stable transition.

“Aid is going to have to enter in a massive way and in an organized way, and not chaotic way,” he added.

Rangel was in Riyadh this week to meet with his counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and to advance the bilateral relationship between ������Ƶ and Portugal.

“First I have to say that I’m very, very glad to be here. It’s very important to relaunch a very, very intense and close relationship between ������Ƶ and Portugal,” he said.

“And, of course, the main issues that we have to address are related to bilateral relations, where we can improve a lot. I think we have made very, very solid progress. But we have huge potential to develop and to improve our economic and cultural relations.”

The Saudi-Portuguese business architecture has been developing rapidly since the establishment of the Saudi-Portuguese Business Council in August 2024, a formal institutional vehicle intended to speed investment and trade ties.

The council — backed by the Federation of Saudi Chambers and Portuguese business bodies — has already targeted renewable energy, tourism, technology and infrastructure as priority sectors.

Rangel was at pains to correct an often-repeated assumption that Portugal is only seeking inward Saudi capital.

“Normally, people think that Portugal is like a lot of countries, only trying to convince Saudi investors to invest in our country. And this is true, we really want to enhance an investment movement from Saudi entrepreneurs, from Saudi funds, in Portugal.

“But it is true, if you look at the micro economy, that there is a very relevant group of Portuguese entrepreneurs that are also doing new things in ������Ƶ. Also in Riyadh, things are happening.”

He pointed to sectors where Portuguese strengths and Saudi ambitions overlap: renewables and energy transition, maritime industries and oceanography, new technologies, and niche manufacturing such as Portugal’s globally-recognised footwear and fashion industries.

“I would invite, also, the Saudi side to look at Portugal more carefully when you look at renewable energies, for instance — that’s also quite an important bit of Saudi Vision 2030. 

“When you look at the sea and the ocean, when you look at new technologies, when you look at fashion, for instance the shoes industry, that is a top world one. So there’s plenty of opportunities.”

Rangel also framed Portugal as a stable, investment-friendly gateway to Europe.

“Portugal is today probably one of the most, or even the most, stable country in Europe, because, if you look at our public finance and how the ratings are evolving, Portugal is a very safe and secure, very inclusive country. You’ll see that all the conditions are there to make a safe and very fruitful investment.”

Culture and history were not an afterthought. Rangel used a linguistic example to underline centuries of Iberian-Arab exchange. “Ten percent of Portuguese words come directly from Arabic. For instance, you said inshallah. In Portugal, it is oxala. Exactly the same meaning.”

Pointing to shared historical touchpoints across the Gulf and along Portugal’s own maritime routes, Rangel said: “We have to enhance the mutual understanding between civilizations and peoples.

“Portugal is at the cross of different civilizations. We were always sailors, so we were present almost all over the world. And we still are, in a quite humble way.”

He also placed culture inside a pragmatic development frame — joint artistic projects, museum collaborations, and even sport.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the Saudi-Portuguese football player who has made headlines all over the world,” he said, referring to Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed a new two-year contract extension with Al-Nassr FC in June.

“Soft power really does play a huge part in enhancing bilateral relations around the world and showcasing it,” he added.

Another strand Rangel insisted on was the potential for triangular cooperation on Africa.

“Both countries are so close to Africa, they know Africa so well and probably together with the expertise of the two countries and also with some economic capacity to help quicken the development of the African countries.

“These could be, really, in terms of cooperation, an important field to explore,” he said, noting Portugal’s historical links across Lusophone Africa and ������Ƶ’s geographic and strategic proximity to North and East Africa.

Returning to the Gaza peace deal, Rangel said the ceasefire and prisoner exchange mark only the beginning for a long and complex process, which Arab and European states will be watching and participating in closely.

“Without this ceasefire, without this agreement, without the release of hostages, nothing would be possible. So we are just now starting,” he said.

He was clear about the next steps: humanitarian access, reconstruction, political arrangements and the difficult task of disarming or excluding Hamas from governance roles in any post-conflict Gaza.

“We will have difficulties. We will have resistance. We will have reluctance to implement the plan. And we have to be capable of overcoming all these struggles very well, because that truly is the case right now.

“We have to be optimistic and we must be realistic, because sometimes when it’s too unrealistic, it’s not the truth of what’s happening in the world and on the ground.”