GazaHerald – In the shattered southern city of Khan Younis, Palestinians returning home after months of displacement are finding not only rubble but also unexploded Israeli weapons buried beneath what once were their homes.
Among them is Ayman Qadourah, who came back a month ago to the ruins of his neighborhood, only to discover an unexploded Israeli armored vehicle, a remotely operated “explosive robot,” lodged under the debris where his house once stood. With no other shelter available, he has pitched his family’s tent directly over the war machine.
“I know how dangerous it is,” he said. “If anything flammable comes close, the flames would be sky-high. But we have nowhere else to go.”
Living on the Edge of Detonation
The Israeli military deployed these remotely operated explosive robots across densely populated areas of Gaza, using them to destroy entire city blocks. Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that in the last three weeks of August alone, Israel detonated more than 100 such devices.
Qadourah said his neighbor’s house still contains another explosive-laden robot, while several airstrikes left deep craters nearby. “If one of these goes off, the whole neighborhood could be gone,” he warned. To reduce the risk, he covers the machines with sand.
The danger is not isolated. According to Luke David Irving, head of the UN Mine Action Service in the occupied Palestinian territory, the threat of unexploded ordnance in Gaza is “incredibly high.” His agency has identified at least 560 devices so far, though the real number is likely far greater.
Since October 2023, the UN has documented 328 people killed or injured by unexploded ordnance, a toll believed to be underestimated due to limited access for rescue and clearance teams.
A City Reduced to Rubble
The destruction in Khan Younis is staggering. UNOSAT satellite analysis shows that more than 42,000 buildings across the governorate have been affected. including 19,000 within the city itself. The UN estimates that across the entire Gaza Strip, over 227,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have nowhere safe to return to. Many, like Qadourah, are forced to rebuild amid the wreckage, while others crowd into overflowing camps in the southern coastal area of al-Mawasi.
“There isn’t an inch of space left,” Qadourah said. “The camps are packed. People here will not move again until there’s a permanent solution.”
Families Return to Danger, Not Safety
Following the October 10 ceasefire, tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to Khan Younis and other devastated areas, joining more than 435,000 people who had already moved north from overcrowded displacement camps. But instead of homes, many have found twisted metal, collapsed walls, and lethal remnants of war.
Qadourah’s children now wear clothes salvaged from beneath the rubble, which have caused severe skin infections and rashes. “Despite everything, we are forced to live here,” he said quietly. “We don’t have another choice.”
While humanitarian organizations have scaled up deliveries of food, tents, hygiene kits, and fuel, Israel continues to impose severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza. The goal of 600 trucks per day remains far from reach, leaving vast numbers of people without basic supplies or safe shelter.
For families like Qadourah’s, the ceasefire has brought little relief. Beneath their makeshift tents, the remnants of war still hum quietly in the ground, a reminder that even peace, in Gaza, remains explosive.
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