JERUSALEM, March 10 (AP) — Israel has allowed a U.N. bomb disposal unit into the Gaza Strip to defuse unexploded munitions left over from last year's fighting.

The Israeli military says the sappers entered Gaza on Wednesday and will work for several weeks. The army gave no information on how many explosives litter the territory.

Israel launched a fierce offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza in December 2008, aiming to stop Palestinian rocket attacks. The three-week operation killed hundreds of people and caused widespread damage.

Israel has barred most foreign officials from entering Gaza since Hamas seized power there in 2007. Israel agreed this week to allow the U.N. secretary-general and the European Union's foreign policy chief into Gaza.