Israel’s Defense Ministry released footage of a major controlled detonation in the Golan Heights, where more than 700 landmines were blown up near Kibbutz Ein Zivan, close to the Syrian border. The operation was carried out by the Israel National Mine Action Authority, the IMOD body responsible for clearing minefields and unexploded ordnance across Israel.

The Golan still contains minefields left from decades of war and border defense, including mines placed by Israel and neighboring armies; the Defense Ministry says erosion has caused some mines to shift over time, turning old military obstacles into an ongoing danger to civilians.

The clearance is part of a multi-year national program meant to return contaminated land to civilian life. According to the Defense Ministry, INMAA has cleared more than 6,700 dunams of land suspected of containing mines or unexploded ordnance over the past year alone, including thousands of dunams in the Golan Heights. The goal is practical: open land for agriculture, housing, tourism, commerce and industry.

INMAA was established in 2011 after Israel made mine-clearance a national security and civilian-safety priority. Since then, the authority has cleared tens of thousands of mines across thousands of acres, including areas near the Dead Sea, the Arava, Eilat, the Beit She’an Valley, Majdal Shams and Had Nes.