‘Israel’ booby-traps children’s toys in Gaza leaving behind several casualties: health ministry

• Gaza's Ministry of Health warns that Gazan children face a threat from unexploded ordnance and devices deliberately disguised as appealing toys (e.g., dolls, teddy bears) left in the rubble.
• Medical facilities are treating a daily influx of children with severe injuries, including amputations and disfigurement, caused by these hidden explosive devices.

Children in the Gaza Strip are facing a lethal, hidden threat from the remnants of war, including unexploded ordnance and devices intentionally disguised as toys, according to Gaza's Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Muneer Alboursh.

Alboursh issued a powerful condemnation of the practice, stating that the deliberate placement of these devices poses an acute and ongoing danger to the youngest residents of the territory.

Deadly “Game” in the Rubble

The conflict has left behind vast amounts of unexploded ordnance (UXO) scattered in the rubble of destroyed buildings and across neighborhoods.

However, Dr. Alboursh warned that an even more sinister tactic is emerging: devices deliberately booby-trapped to resemble children's playthings.

"The occupation army left behind not only destroyed homes but also ticking bombs in the hands of children," Alboursh stated in a post on Facebook.

He described the horrific daily scenes faced by medical staff: "Every day, hospitals receive small, torn bodies, severed limbs and faces whose features have been lost due to the curiosity and innocence of childhood."

Deadly Deception

Alboursh emphasized the malicious nature of disguising the explosives, calling it "what is more dangerous than the physical remnants of war is that which resembles a devil in the face of an angel."

According to the Ministry of Health, items such as dolls, teddy bears, and colorful balls are being used to lure and injure children.

"When a child reaches for the 'pretty toy,' the horrific truth explodes in their face," he wrote.

"The 'bride doll' has been transformed into a mine. The 'small teddy bear' has become an instrument of amputation and disfigurement."