GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL 

Three Palestinian children were injured Monday in two separate explosions caused by unexploded Israeli ordnance in Gaza City, local authorities said.

A child suffered moderate injuries when an explosive remnant blew up in the northern Shati area, Gaza’s police said in a statement.

The police warned residents against handling any unexploded shells or suspicious objects left behind by Israeli forces, urging people to report them immediately.

The Civil Defense said two children from one family were injured in eastern Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood after a suspicious object left by Israeli forces exploded.

Local sources earlier told Anadolu that Israeli forces left behind unexploded shells, booby-trapped objects and disguised explosives, some made to resemble toys or food containers, in areas they evacuated under a ceasefire agreement which took effect on Oct. 10.

An earlier statement from Gaza’s Government Media Office said that there are around 20,000 unexploded bombs and shells left by the Israeli army in Gaza, posing a severe threat to civilians.

Since the ceasefire took effect, several injuries have been reported from explosions caused by the ordnance.

The Health Ministry has not issued a cumulative tally of casualties from unexploded ordnance, but the Government Media Office has repeatedly warned that such explosions are becoming more frequent.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,900 during a two-year war that reduced most of the enclave to rubble.