The United Kingdom will allocate £4 million to support demining efforts in the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Office announced on Thursday.
The funding will go to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to deploy more experts to remove mines, bombs, and other unexploded ordnance dropped by Israel in the Palestinian territory.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that demining is essential to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale to Gaza. Aid cannot be provided without clearing the area of explosives, she stressed.
According to Handicap International, approximately 70,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on Gaza since the onset of the conflict. Earlier this month, the NGO warned of the significant dangers posed by unexploded munitions.
UNMAS estimated in January that between 5% and 10% of the explosives fired at Gaza remain unexploded.
