MAG welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza and agreement to release hostages. We call on all parties to uphold the agreement and for full humanitarian access to be granted as soon as possible.  

While today’s news is positive, it has come too late for the many thousands who have been killed, injured or have lost their homes. 

With 90% of Gaza’s population internally displaced and more than an estimated 60% of residential buildings damaged, the devastating consequences of this conflict will not end today. 

The scale of unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination, in one of the world’s most densely populated areas, has yet to be fully determined but we know it will take many years to remedy.

We know from our experience in post-ceasefire settings, in places such as Lebanon and South Sudan, that it is vital for affected communities to have access to information and advice that can help reduce the risk of injury or death from UXO contamination.

That is why, over the past few months, MAG – through our NGO partner Save Youth Futures Society (SYRS) – has provided over 100,000 people in Gaza with explosive ordnance risk education, sharing the knowledge needed to recognise, avoid and report any UXO they may come across. 

It is also vital that the international community mobilises its resources and expertise to support such risk education work and begin UXO survey and clearance in Gaza as soon as possible so that reconstruction and the restoration of services can take place.

Civilians have the right to be protected from the dangers posed by UXO under international humanitarian law. This includes the clearance and removal of UXO and the delivery of risk education, as established by the EWIPA Declaration.