Gaza's environmental crisis is deepening at a pace that experts now describe as "above imagination," with a new report highlighting catastrophic pollution, collapsing infrastructure, and rising health threats after years of war. The Arava Institute, an Israeli research center, reports that Gaza is now buried under an estimated 61 million tons of rubble, much of it filled with asbestos and unexploded ordnance, and, in some cases, human remains. The territory's environmental woes predate the current conflict, but the scale of destruction since October 7, 2023, has pushed the situation into uncharted territory, per Grist.
The report paints a grim picture. Wastewater treatment plants have been destroyed, leaving raw sewage to seep into the soil or spill into the Mediterranean. Less than 10% of hazardous waste is safely managed, forcing most of it into open-air dumps or burn pits. Meanwhile, more than 80% of Gaza's cropland is gone, and $70 billion in damage has been inflicted on essential infrastructure, according to a United Nations estimate. "The garbage becomes mountains, and the mountains are a breeding site for mosquitoes and rodents, which spread malaria," says Yasser El-Nahhal, an ecotoxicologist at the Islamic University of Gaza.
Access to basic necessities was already precarious due to long-standing blockades, but the war has made it worse. According to Doctors Without Borders, only one in 10 water delivery requests are approved by Israeli authorities. With power outages now routine, most residents are left scrambling for clean water and sanitation. Some experts and rights advocates are calling the situation "ecocide"—a term for large-scale environmental destruction at the hands of humans. A coalition of countries is pushing to make ecocide an international crime, and the world's largest conservation congress recently backed that move.
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