“Mine clearance operations will take years” in the Gaza Strip, warns Handicap International

The NGO Handicap International, whose offices were destroyed during an Israeli bombardment on Gaza on January 31, is calling for a “permanent, essential” ceasefire before considering any mine clearance operation.

While the Israeli army bombs Rafah, the town in the south of the Gaza Strip where 1.4 million people have taken refuge according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and which Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to the army to evacuate civilians from this area in preparation for a ground offensive, Handicap International warns of the catastrophic humanitarian situation there. Danila Zizi, director for Palestine of the NGO, discusses the plight of residents with disabilities, who have more difficulty fleeing the bombings.

franceinfo: What do Handicap International employees present in Gaza tell you ? What scenes do they describe to you ?

Danila Zizi: It’s hard to imagine. According to our calculations, there are already more than 27,000 injured people who could not be treated properly. They cannot stay in hospitals and have the necessary time to recover their motor functions. They are more likely to develop forms of disability. We have distributed a few hundred wheelchairs and crutches on site, but it is largely insufficient.

Some people who were already disabled before the start of the war lost their devices while fleeing the bombings. After the first shots in Gaza in October, we received calls from desperate Palestinians. They were trying to take shelter. But for them, especially if they are in a wheelchair, it is almost impossible to travel several kilometers on roads destroyed by gunfire and fighting. Other people with mental disabilities may not understand what is happening.

At Handicap International, you are particularly concerned about the number of weapons, bombs, grenades and missiles that have fallen to the ground but have not exploded.

They represent a great danger to Gazans. They are not safe anywhere because of this. As they move through the streets, they may step on a mine planted by Hamas, or step on an unexploded missile. It is also dangerous to settle in a makeshift shelter, in the middle of the street, because they cannot know what is just below, buried in the ground. Some search through the rubble to find water, food… and risk triggering an explosion.

“According to UN experts, around 10% of explosive weapons (grenades, bombs, rockets, mines) fall to the ground without being triggered. They represent a danger as long as they are not deactivated by deminers.”

Danila Zizi, Handicap International

at franceinfo

We do not know how many such weapons there are in Gaza, but given the scale of the bombing in the enclave, we estimate that there are a few thousand. To know precisely where they are, deactivate them and take them out, a permanent ceasefire is absolutely necessary. These mine clearance operations will take years and be very expensive. But they are essential to ensure the safety of Palestinians when they can return home. If the authorities allow them. And to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

With many NGOs, with the Secretary General of the United Nations, you are jointly calling for a ceasefire. But negotiations are failing between Israel and Hamas. Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to evacuate the city of Rafah in preparation for a ground offensive. The bombings continue. Do you feel helpless ?

Our concern continues to grow. Rafah is the last city before Egypt, where most of the Palestinian refugees are gathered today. [ils sont 1,4 million d’après l’ONU, sur les près de deux millions d’habitants que comptait Gaza avant la guerre]. Any military incursion into Rafah would have catastrophic consequences for civilians. Access to humanitarian aid is already very limited, they lack water and food. There is no electricity, no communication networks, almost no hospitals in operation. We, NGOs, would no longer be able to provide aid if the army intervenes in Rafah.