Gaza faces environmental catastrophe as garbage piles up amid Israeli restrictions

Gaza is facing a looming environmental and health catastrophe as garbage continues to pile up on streets, in residential neighborhoods and in displacement camps, local authorities warned Thursday. The Joint Services Council for Solid Waste Management in central and southern Gaza said the worsening crisis, driven by Israel's closure of major dumping sites and restrictions on fuel and equipment, has pushed the enclave's waste management system to the brink of collapse.

Disease risk

"We are living through a critical moment that no longer concerns only the humanitarian crisis but has become a direct threat to the environment and public health," Ahmed Al-Sufi, the head of the council, told a press conference in Deir al-Balah. He said municipalities can no longer reach sanitary landfills, forcing waste to accumulate near homes and tents sheltering displaced Palestinians and creating conditions for the spread of disease. "We are facing a dangerous reality marked by the spread of rodents and insects in the absence of proper waste treatment."

Call for international intervention

Al-Sufi called for urgent international intervention, including reopening roads leading to the Al-Fukhari landfill and allowing daily access, along with the entry of fuel, heavy machinery and pest-control materials without restrictions. He said the landfill, established with international support, has remained closed for a prolonged period, causing the surrounding waste management network to break down.

System collapse

The council, which oversees waste management in Khan Younis, Rafah and central Gaza across 17 municipalities, is no longer facing a temporary crisis but "a comprehensive and imminent collapse" of the entire system, he added. "We will continue to work despite all the challenges. But every hour of delay means the danger spreads further and brings us closer to a point that may no longer be reversed."

Ceasefire violations

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 765 Palestinians have been killed and 2,140 injured in near-daily Israeli attacks in violation of a ceasefire in place since Oct. 10, 2025. The ceasefire followed more than two years of war that has killed over 72,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 172,000 and devastated about 90% of the enclave's infrastructure.