The Gaza Strip is now blanketed by between 65 and 70 million tons of rubble and waste as a result of two years of Israeli aggression, local authorities reported.

In a statement, the Government Media Office in Gaza declared that “the scale of destruction caused by the war has reached unprecedented levels in modern history.”

Initial estimates indicate the presence of approximately 20,000 unexploded ordnances, including bombs and missiles launched by Israeli forces, the statement emphasized.

This situation poses a major threat to civilian lives, requiring “careful engineering and safety considerations before any debris removal work can begin,” it warned.

The statement explained that hundreds of thousands of homes and vital facilities were deliberately destroyed or damaged by the Israeli army, turning the Strip into “an environmental and structural disaster zone.”

It further warned that this devastation has led to “the collapse of daily life and is obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid, as well as rescue and relief efforts.”

The Office noted that debris removal operations will face significant obstacles due to the lack of heavy equipment and machinery, a consequence of Israel’s prohibition on their entry and the continued closure of border crossings—only partially reopened a few days ago.

This week, the NGO Handicap International also warned that Israeli unexploded ordnance represents an enormous threat to the more than two million Palestinians living in the Strip.

“The risks are enormous,” said Anne-Claire Yaeesh, the organization’s director for the Palestinian territories, recalling that tens of thousands of tons of explosives have been dropped on the area over the past two years.

The coastal enclave presents a particularly complex landscape due to its limited space and densely populated zones, she added.

The layers and levels of debris accumulation are also extensive, noted Handicap International, an NGO specializing in mine clearance and assistance to victims of such weapons.

Meanwhile, the NGO HALO Trust, which shares the same mission, called for international funding to support the deployment of bomb disposal specialists to Gaza—a process that, according to the group, could take at least five years in its initial phase.