Gaza City, Gaza – On May 19, just after midnight, an explosive device ripped through the roof of the Muhareb family’s home in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
Two minutes later, an Israeli warplane dropped another shotgun, which crashed into two rooms of the building, but somehow exploded.
Waseem Muhareb told Al Jazeera: “My brother and his family, who live in the second floor, were wounded by gunfire.” “My four-month-old son was in a coma for two days, and my eight-year-old grandson Layan was in the intensive care unit for 10 days with burns all over his body.”
An additional Muhareb house, with 36 adults and children, was damaged. The second wheel hit one of the dormitories before it reached the ground.
“There was no warning,” said Waseem, whose family now lives in nearby dormitories. “All of these problems happened in three minutes.”
[Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]
Dangerous and dangerous
The next day, the team that dropped the bomb arrived and removed the unknown movement and the remains of the reconnaissance projectile.
The group, which oversees the interior ministry, has carried out 1,200 operations to eradicate, eradicate and destroy unmodified warheads and dangerous weapons in Gaza settlements since May 10, when Israel began bombing 11 days offshore.
The escalation of violence follows the Israeli military crackdown on protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. Hamas, the Palestinian Authority that controls Gaza, has issued a notice to Israeli forces to evacuate the area around the shrine, which also forms the Jews, which they call the Temple Mount.
After the bombing, Hamas fired several rockets into Jerusalem, and shortly thereafter Israel attacked Gaza. The Israeli bombing lasted for more than 11 days and killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children, according to health officials. The missiles fired by the military in Gaza killed at least 13 people in Israel. Hamas and Israel agreed to end the conflict on May 21.
A bomb blast in Gaza has caused an uproar severe damage on construction projects, including the demolition of 1,800 homes, 74 government buildings, 53 training centers, and 33 media offices. Damage to water pumps leaves more than 250,000 Palestinians without access to safe drinking water.
Captain Mohammed Meqdad, a corruption engineer at Gaza’s interior ministry, told Al Jazeera that a group of 70 people who had lost a bomb had not suffered any injuries since May 10, despite not having the necessary equipment.
“The team does not have protective clothing or high-tech weapons that could detect the presence of explosives,” Meqdad said. “They only have small arms, like a weapon box that can be found in almost every home.”
The engineer said that under Israel’s 13-year-old defenses in Gaza, the entry of anti-aircraft missiles used by Gaza bombers has been banned.
Meqdad said the biggest risk associated with the project at a time when Israel is frustrated is that it could be targeted.
“The second threat is the type of Israeli missile that was thrown, how dangerous it is, and if the trainee can find out all of this with the old weapons they have,” Meqdad said.
The final stage of the operation is to dismantle the missing equipment and transfer it to a warehouse, located in Rafah, in preparation for demolition.
Meqdad said recent developments saw new weapons used for the first time on the Gaza Strip – the GBU-31 and GBU-39 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) explosions. Designed to enter battlefields with strong fences, the two-ton bombs were used to repair high-rise apartment buildings, as well as commercial and media offices.
Captain Mohammed Meqdad depicts Israeli remains that exploded at Abu al-Ouf’s house during a battle on Wehda Street [Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]Education and experience in the field
The bomb disposal group was formed in 1996 when the Palestinian Authority ruled Gaza. The first group was trained by experts from the United States, and in 2006, the team was promoted and added experts and specialists.
Following the 2008-2009 assassination of Israel frustrating in Gaza, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) began work in addition to training the anti-bomb ministry.
Between 2014 and 2020, UNMAS responded to 876 applications for nuclear weapons (EOD), removed and destroyed 150 large bombs containing 29,500 kilograms of explosives, and facilitated the removal of 7,340 nuclear weapons (ERW) remains.
Meqdad said those who want to join the group receive their training from those who are working here, depending on the years they have been working in the field.
“In the last 10-11 years, no one who has done this work has left Gaza to study abroad,” he said.
An exhibition of remnants of the arsenal (ERW) is on display at the Gaza City technical headquarters [Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]‘Every Day Can Be Lasted’
Asad al-Aloul, who has been leading a bomb disposal team for the past eight years, says his job is the most dangerous in the security sector, which includes police and internal security agencies.
“Choosing to work in this field is our choice and our honor because we remove any obstacles that may threaten our citizens,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Just working as a bomb maker means you are a martyr,” he added. “Every day you leave work can mean your last day on earth, because any mistake means it will be the last mistake you make – no exceptions.”
In 2014, three experts from the bomb disposal team was killed, including a foreign Palestinian journalist and interpreter present, after attempting to disrupt a siege in northern Gaza.
Despite the dangers of the job, al-Aloul said he had never considered resigning.
“Who else can capture and protect our children from injury or death, knowing all these dangers?” he said. “We are working to provide a better future for the next generation so that they do not have to have limbs cut off with a gun or a bomb.”
“Every day you see death, but the savior is God. It is a privilege to die while protecting our people. ”
Palestinian children are playing on top of an unarmed Israeli rifle aimed at a bomber [Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]
