Hamas rearms itself from Israeli unexploded ordnance in Gaza: Media

Palestinian group, Hamas, is rearming itself from unexploded ammunition used by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media said on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to Israel’s Army Radio, the military believes that Hamas is re-establishing its workshops for ammunition production in Gaza.

The radio, citing informed security officials, said there is no difficulty in having explosives in Gaza, claiming that they are available in huge quantities in the enclave from the unexploded war remnants.

Israeli military officials estimate that some 5 per cent of around 50,000 bombs thrown on Gaza have not exploded, meaning that 2,000 to 3,000 bombs remained unexploded and Hamas could use their items as raw materials.

The army also estimates that, in case of a long-period ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas would be able to revive its line of ammunition production.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt have, so far, failed to agree on a permanent ceasefire that allows a prisoner swap between Israelis and Palestinians.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since a 7 October, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 37,600 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 86,100 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.

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