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UN PhotoGAZA / UNMAS EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE
TITLE: GAZA / UNMAS EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE
TRT: 06:58
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 04 APRIL 2026, GAZA CITY
1.Various shots, headquarters of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) mission in the Gaza Strip.
2. Various shots, one of the UNMAS teams during preparations for field missions in the Gaza Strip to clear explosive remnants of war.
3. B-roll of Mr. Joel Fournier, Senior Field Security Adviser at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), during preparations with the field teams.
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Fournier, Senior Field Security Adviser at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS):
“Mine action in this country plays a critical enabling role for humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip. By identifying, managing, and mitigating explosive hazard risks, and by providing security advice and tailored recommendations, UNOPS PSC and UNMAS help create safer conditions for humanitarian actors to operate. This support also enables humanitarian personnel to access affected communities and deliver life-saving assistance more safely and efficiently. As you know, many hospitals need to receive medicine, food, and support for the evacuation of injured people. In such cases, UNMAS is here first to conduct security assessments and assess explosive ordnance hazards, to ensure that we can enter these hospitals and deliver humanitarian assistance. So, of course, humanitarian action and mine action work hand in hand.”
5. B-roll of Mr. Joel Fournier, Senior Field Security Adviser at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), during preparations with the field teams.
6.SOUNDBITE (English) Joel Fournier, Senior Field Security Adviser at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS):
“Sometimes you remember that one year ago, some of my colleagues from UNOPS and UNMAS were very, very badly injured, and one was killed. So today I am thinking deeply about them. I also want to take this opportunity to thank them for their service.”
6. Various shots, United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) team departing for a field mission in the Gaza Strip.
7. Various shots, destroyed residential neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip.
8. Various shots, explosive objects and remnants of war that UNMAS teams have worked to identify and neutralize in areas where residents have returned.
9. Various shots, UNMAS teams carrying out field operations in devastated areas across the Gaza Strip.
10. Various shots, UNMAS teams identifying and removing explosive remnants of war located between destroyed buildings and near displaced persons’ tents in the Gaza Strip.
11. Various shots, destroyed residential neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations said that its teams operating in the Gaza Strip are continuing efforts to reduce the risks posed by explosive ordnance and remnants of war, amid mounting dangers threatening civilians and humanitarian workers across the territory.
The statement came on the occasion of the International Day for Mine Awareness, observed annually on April 4, as teams from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) continue working in a highly complex and dangerous field environment.
Joel Fournier, Senior Field Security Adviser for UNOPS and UNMAS, said the work of both entities in Gaza plays a “critical enabling role” in supporting humanitarian operations across the Strip.
Fournier added that UN teams are working to identify explosive threats, manage associated risks, and mitigate their impact, while also providing security advice and threat-related recommendations to help create a “safer operating environment” for humanitarian personnel.
He said this support also enables humanitarian workers to access affected communities and deliver life-saving assistance “more safely and efficiently.”
Fournier noted that many hospitals in Gaza remain in urgent need of medicine and food, as well as support for the evacuation of the wounded and injured. He added that UNMAS teams are often among the first to assess the security situation and the risks posed by explosive ordnance before access to such sites is authorized.
He said these assessments are intended to ensure that hospitals can be accessed and humanitarian activities carried out safely, stressing that security and humanitarian operations “move along the same path and serve the same purpose.”
Fournier underscored the significance of this role, recalling that several of his colleagues from UNOPS and UNMAS were seriously injured about a year ago, while one staff member was killed in the line of duty.
“I think of them a lot today,” he said, expressing gratitude to his colleagues for their “service and dedication.”
The efforts of UN teams in Gaza are not limited to clearing remnants of war. They also include risk education activities aimed at warning civilians about the dangers of handling suspicious objects.
UNMAS has warned of growing risks from unexploded ordnance in Gaza, as hundreds of thousands of displaced people, along with humanitarian workers, move through areas that have been subjected to extensive bombardment following the ceasefire.
According to the agency, since October 2023, more than 550 explosive ordnance items have been identified in areas that teams were able to access, although the full scale of explosive contamination across Gaza remains unknown.
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