The shattered landscape of Gaza is concealing a danger that may outlast the current devastation by decades: thousands of unexploded bombs buried under homes, streets and shelters. Specialists warn that the Strip could now contain one of the densest concentrations of unexploded ordnance anywhere in the world, a lethal legacy of the ongoing genocidal war that continues to claim civilian lives long after the explosions fall silent.

Much of the danger is buried deep beneath the rubble. Many of the munitions dropped on the territory were designed to detonate inside buildings or underground, leaving unpredictable remnants scattered across entire neighbourhoods. Residents and aid workers say people are already being killed or severely injured simply by returning to their homes or clearing debris, as hidden explosives turn ordinary routines into deadly risks. Children are especially vulnerable, mistaking dangerous fragments for toys in streets now filled with rubble and twisted metal.

Field teams estimate that more than 7,000 tonnes of unexploded ordnance now lie across almost half of Gaza’s residential areas, with some northern neighbourhoods carrying extraordinary concentrations. Experts believe that removing it all could take decades, even with full access, advanced machinery and uninterrupted operations, conditions that simply do not exist under the current siege. With equipment blocked from entering and specialists prevented from working freely, deminers are forced to improvise with makeshift tools in an environment where no area can be guaranteed safe, and where displaced families have nowhere else to flee.

The scale of the problem has been compared to the challenges faced in European cities after the Second World War. Yet Gaza’s situation is uniquely dire: unlike other post-war locations, its population cannot be evacuated, its infrastructure has been levelled, and its borders remain tightly restricted. Each delay in clearing the ruins increases the likelihood that future generations will inherit a landscape seeded with lethal remnants, turning every reconstruction effort into a gamble with unseen danger.