June 23, 2021
Israeli Offensive Remnants, Including Projectiles and Explosive Objects, Threaten Civilians’ Lives in Gaza Strip
Israeli Offensive Remnants, Including Projectiles and Explosive Objects, Threaten Civilians’ Lives in Gaza Strip

 

Ref: 88/2021

Date: 23 June 2021

Time: 13:00 GMT

 

As part of the IOF’s ongoing crimes against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, the effects of the latest Israeli offensive still threaten their lives, as the Gaza Strip population has become victims even after the end of the offensive. There is an imminent danger to their lives due to the unexploded missiles and ordnance whose effects threaten their lives at any given moment.

 

Due to lack of equipment and capabilities resulted from the tightened and arbitrary Israeli-imposed closure on the Gaza Strip, the technical crews at the Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip could not destroy or deal with the remnants of the Israeli weapons and munitions launched during the latest Israeli offensive. This has caused a humanitarian catastrophe that threatens civilians’ lives in the Gaza Strip.

 

Moreover, Israeli warplanes destroyed the Explosives Engineering Department and its equipment in Gaza City during the latest Israeli offensive, deepening the crisis and unprecedentedly crippled the efficiency work of the Department that has become incapable of dealing with the suspicious and explosive objects.

 

According to sources in the Explosives Engineering Department in Gaza, the total number of Israeli latest offensive’s remnants in the Gaza Strip is at least 700 suspicious objects and exploded and unexploded ordnance, including remnants of artillery and tank shells, shrapnel of guided missiles and shrapnel of air-dropped bombs. Due to the lack of capabilities and shortage of technical crews, Explosives Engineering Department was unable to deal with, defuse or destroy these munitions.

 

One of the main obstacles facing the work of Engineering Department is having difficulty in accessing the remnants of the suspicions objects that fell underground down below the destroyed buildings in dangerous and open areas.  This is in light of insufficient equipment and experience necessary for bomb disposal as reaching these remnants requires drilling equipment and sophisticated detection equipment to determine the places where the remnants exist in a prelude to remove, defuse and destroy them.

 

PCHR holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the remnants of the latest offensive and its indiscriminate effects that threaten the lives of the civilian population, especially children.

 

PCHR warns of inflicting more casualties due to the explosion of Israeli explosive bombs and missiles.

 

PCHR calls on the international community to

 

  • Intervene immediately in order to end the human suffering of the Gaza Strip’s civilian population due to the explosive remnants of the Israeli offensive.
  • Find a mechanism for the transmission of technical information to the United Nations and its explosive device disposal units in order to facilitate the disposal of the remnants quickly and immediately to reduce the risk of inflicting more casualties.
  • Allow and pressurize the Israeli occupation authorities to the entry of UN explosives experts and necessary capabilities and equipment into the Gaza Strip to deal with and destroy the remnants of munitions from the latest Israeli offensive and put pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to allow their entry.
  • Intervene immediately in order to oblige the Israeli authorities to fulfill their legal responsibility towards the Gaza Strip population and protect them.