HAMILTON, Canada 

The UN's mine action program chief in the occupied Palestinian territories said Tuesday that the organization is "deeply concerned about the heightened risk" posed by explosive ordnance in the Gaza Strip, warning that dangers will persist for years.

"As of today, 328 victims of explosive ordnance, including injuries and deaths, have been reported to UNMAS (UN Mine Action Service) since October 2023. We expect that this figure is significantly under-reported," Luke Irving said at a virtual news conference, adding that many more have likely been injured or killed by ordnance littering Gaza in the last two years.

Noting that the UNMAS has identified at least 560 items of explosive ordnance in accessible parts in the enclave, Irving stressed that "we will not know the full extent of contamination in Gaza until a comprehensive survey can take place and can be done."

"We expect to find many more items in the coming weeks as we can access more areas under the ceasefire," he said, adding that the UN is "deeply concerned about the heightened risk about these items pose in the coming days, weeks, months and years."

He said the risk increases as civilians move around and reconstruction begins, saying that "explosive items could be in the rubble in these areas, and a bit more exposed. So, the threats will increase as people move around, and especially when construction, reconstruction, and recovery efforts start."

UNMAS has reached approximately 460,000 people with in-person risk education, including in displacement shelters and health centers, and has produced over 400,000 materials such as flyers and stickers, Irving reported.

Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Irving said that early recovery work involves clearing "some estimated 50 to 60 million tons of debris which may have been contaminated with explosive ordnance," ensuring aid can reach affected populations safely.

To restore service and expand humanitarian access since a ceasefire that took effect in early October, he stated that UNMAS has received nearly 100 requests for mine action support from UN partners since Oct. 10, averaging about 10 new requests per day.

On funding, he said if UNMAs receives "another $14 to $15 million, we can bring on another 45 operators and surgeons for the next six months."

Emphasizing the long-term nature of the threat, Irving said, "We know from previous experience and generally with conflicts, there's going to be a large-scale contamination. You always have this when two warring parties use explosive weapons against one another. There's always explosive ordinance that remains."

Israel has killed over 68,200 people and injured more than 170,300 in Gaza since October 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

The occupied West Bank also witnessed a sharp rise in attacks over the same period, with at least 1,056 Palestinians killed, around 10,300 injured, and more than 20,000, including 1,600 children, detained, according to Palestinian figures.