People planning return to neighbourhoods to search for loved ones and assess damage to homes this weekend. Tens of thousands of people will risk death or injury this weekend from shells and bombs buried in rubble when they try to reach their ruined homes in areas of Gaza that have been inaccessible throughout much of the 15-month war, explosive disposal experts and aid officials have warned.
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To comply with the ceasefire deal that came into effect last Sunday, Israel must allow movement from southern Gaza to the north – where destruction has been most intensive – through a major checkpoint on the Israeli-held Netzarim corridor. Speaking from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Amjad Shawa, the director of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, said: “There is likely to be massive movement over the next few days and people are also going to be trying to find their loved ones or whoever under the rubble. There are 50m tonnes of debris that contains unknown dangerous items. Unexploded ordnance is a really big issue. We are trying to coordinate efforts to raise awareness. We are telling children especially tell authorities if they find anything and stay away from it.”.
![[Children play football amid the ruins in Gaza]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a0a9f13581018f8088ea8fac30b989acfb6eff4f/0_493_7389_4433/master/7389.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Experts have described as “unprecedented” the challenges of clearing unexploded bombs and other munitions from Gaza, where more than two-thirds of buildings have been destroyed or damaged by one of the most intensive bombardments in modern times. About 2 million Palestinians have been displaced during the war and are living in makeshift shelters and tented camps far from their former homes.
