An explosion in Rafah on Wednesday highlighted the arithmetic of risk that persists in Gaza despite a ceasefire. Hamas said the blast occurred in an area under full Israeli military control, adding that no Palestinian workers were present. The group said it had previously warned about unexploded ordnance left from earlier fighting, arguing that responsibility for such remnants dates to before the ceasefire’s implementation.

The incident came as Israeli fire continued elsewhere in the strip. In Jabalia, also on Wednesday, one Palestinian man was killed, and two others were injured after Israeli forces opened fire, according to local reports. Since the ceasefire began, violations have been counted in single days rather than weeks, a sign of reduced intensity but not of safety. With more than two million people living in a territory of about 365 square kilometres, the density of civilians magnifies the danger posed by leftover munitions. Each incident, even involving a single device, carries outsized humanitarian and political weight.