WATCH LIVE: IDF explodes 350 landmines in the Golan Heights

While there are some 825 hectares of known minefields, there are still some 9,000 hectares suspected of being mined throughout the country.

Live: Blowing up over 350 mines inthe Golan Heights, July 24, 2018 (Israeli Ministry of Defense)
An explosion of 350 land mines on the Golan Heights was broadcast live Tuesday as part of Israel’s National Mine Action Authority’s mandate to clear the plateau of old ordinance.
Similar controlled mass explosions have been carried out since last summer as part of the INMAA’s 3-year project to de-mine the Golan Heights.
 
In 2010, Daniel Yuval, 11, lost a leg to a land mine while walking across a snowy field  in the Golan Heights. Following this incident, the Knesset enacted the Minefield Clearance Act in 2011. Since 2012, the INMAA has cleared more than 700 hectares of Syrian minefields placed before 1967 when Israel captured the strategic heights. The authority clears between 150-200 hectares per year, depending on its annual budget.
 
The INMAA has also removed minefields in the Arava Valley and the West Bank, including Qasr al-Yahud – a historic site where Joshua led the Children of Israel to ford the Jordan River, and John the Baptist baptized Jesus.
 
While the INMAA knows of some 825 hectares of minefields yet to be cleared throughout the country, a further 9,000 hectares are suspected of being mined. 

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.