After Israel’s deadly war, ‘uninhabitable’ Gaza will face environmental disaster for decades: Experts

By Nuran Erkul

LONDON (AA) - Palestinians will face an “uninhabitable” Gaza Strip for decades to come because of Israel’s deadly ongoing war, which has laid waste to urban areas, agricultural land and all basic infrastructure in the besieged Palestinian territory, according to experts.

“In any war and conflict, the toxic trail that is left upon generations after the guns fall silent will be there, because of debris management, oil installations, sewerage,” Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), told Anadolu in an interview.

“Where to put the debris is an issue for all cities that have gone through bombing. This will certainly be an issue for the people of Gaza.”

Currently, Andersen said, the UN has not carried out an environmental impact assessment as it is focusing on the staggering humanitarian crisis in Gaza and efforts for a cease-fire.

“At the moment, we do not have it (an assessment). After the 2009 war and 2014 war, we were invited in by the Palestinian authorities to do an assessment. We have done this in many places, in Iraq, Syria, the Balkans, Darfur, Haiti and Ukraine. This is part of our mandate to assess environmental impact,” she said.

“When we are invited, when that day comes, we will absolutely be doing it (in Gaza).”

However, PAX for Peace, a Netherlands-based organization, has carried out a rapid environment assessment study on Gaza.

PAX works in conflict areas across the world with the aim of protecting civilians against acts of war, ending armed violence and building inclusive peace.

The basic conditions needed for life in Gaza have been “seriously degraded” by Israel’s military campaign, according to Wim Zwijnenburg, humanitarian disarmament project lead at PAX and one of the lead authors of the study titled “Uninhabitable?”.

“The priority should go, of course, to the humanitarian concerns. But we also need to look ahead to see what are the other ways because there is a lot of things that you can do to prevent or minimize additional health risks, and also the conditions on the environment that people are depending on in Gaza for restoring and rebuilding lives, and it is going to be difficult,” he told Anadolu.

- Acute and chronic health risks

Zwijnenburg said people are stuck in Gaza and the “siege” imposed on the Palestinian territory, with “conditions that make life possible … being demolished either from the humanitarian or environmental perspective.”

“It makes parts of the Gaza Strip literally uninhabitable for the years, and maybe decades, to come. It seems to be that this is a deliberate strategy by the Israeli government to force people out of Gaza itself,” he said.

“It is a complete destruction of the elementary infrastructure. Palestinians cannot go anywhere and cannot import anything to make life better.”

The environmental dimensions of conflict zones fall under a pyramid, with the first level focusing on acute risks to public health, Zwijnenburg explained.

Smoke from bombed factories, with plastics and other packing materials being burnt, exposes people to hazardous substances, he said, citing the al-Madina soft drinks factory as an example.

He said most of the factories being bombed have hazardous materials and the risks they pose to people grow exponentially if they are located in areas with civilian populations.

The second level of the pyramid refers to direct and indirect public and environmental impacts, including damage to water resources and energy infrastructure.

Water security has been a critical aspect in Gaza as Israel’s attacks have destroyed most of the region’s water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure.

This is already leading to acute and chronic public health risks, according to the PAX report, which refers to UN data indicating that most Gazans are living on one to three liters of water per day, well below the international emergency threshold of 15 liters a day.

People do not have access to clean drinking water, which will impact their health, while the general situation carries a grave risk of an outbreak of communicable diseases, said Zwijnenburg.

There could be outbreaks of diarrhea, and potentially cholera, which could particularly impact vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly, he said.

- Waste management collapsing, farmlands damaged

The third dimension of the pyramid refers to the medium- and long-term conflict and environmental risks from rubble, lack of waste management and agricultural impacts.

Solid waste management is collapsing in Gaza, Zwijnenburg said, adding that thousands of tons of solid waste usually stored in landfills is now dumped on streets.

People are also burning solid waste and that could potentially lead to leaks into groundwater sources, he added.

“On top of that, we have the massive destruction of urban areas that are generating a lot of dust. And we know that buildings contain asbestos and cement, potentially heavy metals,” he said.

Over 25% of Gaza’s farmlands have also been affected by Israeli attacks, as well as its fisheries, he said.

“Since the start of the bombing campaign on Oct. 7, suspected locations in orchards and fields have been heavily targeted, with visible crater impacts seen on satellite imagery. The subsequent invasion by the Israeli army and its movements through agricultural areas further destroyed greenhouses, fields and irrigation infrastructure,” read the PAX report.

In a recent analysis, Lennard de Klerk of the Initiative on Greenhouse Gases Accounting of War found that the climate costs of the Ukraine war are at an estimated $9.6 billion.

The first 18 months of the war in Ukraine might have caused up to 150 million tons of carbon emissions, which is more than the annual greenhouse gas emissions of Belgium, the report said.

According to de Klerk, the cost of reconstruction in Ukraine will be much higher than this amount, which is also valid for Gaza.

“The damage in Gaza compared to Ukrainian buildings is 22%. Given the fact that Gaza has 2 million inhabitants and Ukraine has 14 million, Ukrainian frontline is 1,200 kilometers and the Gaza Strip is only 40 kilometers long, the relative damage in Gaza is much higher,” he said.

“I think, we should not be surprised because more than 50% (of housing units) or even more are destroyed. That is massive.”

- Gaza needs massive international support

According to the PAX report, Palestinians face a bleak future once Israel ends its deadly assault, with most of the civilian infrastructure turned to rubble and a lack of expertise and civilian governance to lead recovery efforts.

Zwijnenburg said a substantial amount of support is needed from the international community to remove the tons of rubble all across Gaza, as well as the actual rebuilding of housing and infrastructure.

This should be a “green new construction” to address the ongoing climate change-related problems, he said.

“That is going to take decades to do in a proper way that makes life possible for the millions of Palestinians in Gaza,” he said.

“Millions and millions of dollars were put to waste (previously) because these facilities were bombed this time again. So, it also depends on political stability for international donors to invest in Gaza. There is no political solution for that and it is going to be a major problem.”