Israel's Gaza attacks have created serious environmental crisis: Experts

ISTANBUL

Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza has created an environmental catastrophe that threatens both immediate and long-term health risks for Palestinians, according to experts and recent reports.

The current conflict, which began on Oct. 7 last year, has forced over 85% of Gaza's population from their homes, leaving many in makeshift shelters amid mounting piles of garbage and debris. Local authorities struggle to manage waste collection due to fuel shortages and damaged infrastructure.

A report by the Netherlands-based organization PAX for Peace titled "War and Garbage in Gaza" paints a grim picture of the territory's waste management crisis. According to the report, at least 225 waste collection sites of varying sizes dot the Gaza Strip, but Israeli military operations have damaged collection vehicles and blocked access to disposal areas.

The result is hundreds of thousands of tons of solid waste accumulating in streets and fields. Some 330,000 tons of solid waste have accumulated across Gaza – enough to fill more than 150 soccer fields, according to estimates by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

This is a "silent threat" to displaced Palestinians, the report warns, citing high temperatures, collapsed health infrastructure, food insecurity and a lack of medical care as compounding factors. Health risks are severe.

"While the effects of the war on Gaza’s health infrastructure have been widely televised, the lens failed to capture the situation unravelling just outside the region’s remaining hospitals. With no proper disposal mechanisms, medical products are dumped in the open. When improperly treated, such waste can release chemicals and radioactive substances into the earth or underground water, leading to the spread of diseases like Hepatitis B and C," said the PAX for Peace report released in July.

Contaminated water and soil also threaten to enter the food chain through agricultural activities, potentially impacting ecosystems and populations far beyond Gaza's borders, the report underlined.

Gaza produces around 2,000 tons of waste daily, managed by 500 donkey carts and 76 collection vehicles. One collection vehicle serves about 21,000 people there, according to the UN Development Program (UNDP). With the amount of waste Gaza produces, protecting Gazans from epidemics and restoring the degraded environment is a long and difficult challenge.

- 'Israel aims to render Gaza unlivable'

But the crisis extends beyond solid waste. Seyfi Kilic from Türkiye’s Mugla Sitki Kocman University told Anadolu that Israel's actions have made environmental problems in Gaza, including waste disposal, "inextricable."

Kilic argues that this is part of a longstanding Israeli policy to make Palestinian territories uninhabitable. He cites international laws prohibiting environmental modification techniques in warfare, suggesting Israel's intensive use of conventional weapons aims to render Gaza unlivable.

"Gaza has always faced major issues with water supply and solid and liquid waste disposal due to the lack of full authority, the Israeli embargo and other reasons," he said. "But this severe occupation has made it even more intractable. This is Israel's primary goal."

The environmental damage could have lasting consequences, Kilic warns, adding that untreated waste and building debris could lead to outbreaks of malaria, cholera, typhoid and typhus. He views this as part of Israel's military strategy to prevent Palestinians from living in Gaza.

Kilic also notes Israel's history of damaging Palestinian agricultural land in both Gaza and the West Bank.

"Israel aims to transform both the West Bank and Gaza into areas unsuitable for agriculture," he said.

Efforts to address waste management in Gaza existed before the current conflict, but Israeli restrictions meant most wastewater was released untreated into the sea or soil. Now, with millions of people constantly displaced and living in tents, Kilic believes organizing any waste management is nearly impossible.

"The most important thing for these people right now is survival -- access to enough food," he said, noting reports of children and infants dying of starvation.

"This is all a result of policies aimed at genocide. It's beneficial to view all of this as a consequence of Israel's genocide policy."

*Writing by Yasin Gungor