Waste pileup in Gaza threatens to trigger disease outbreaks amid Israeli blockade, official warns

By Mohamed Majed and Mohammad Sio

GAZA CITY, Palestine/ISTANBUL (AA) – The accumulation of tons of waste across the Gaza Strip threatens to trigger outbreaks of skin, respiratory, and intestinal diseases, a Palestinian health official warned Friday.

Local officials estimate that nearly 700,000 tons of trash have piled up in random dumpsites in Gaza amid dire humanitarian conditions following a two-year Israeli war on the enclave.

The waste pileup poses “an environmental and public-health catastrophe,” Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, told Anadolu.

He said the waste attracts mosquitoes, rodents, flies, and insects that help spread skin, respiratory, and intestinal illnesses among residents.

Abu Salmiya said gases emitted from the waste, especially methane, directly affect patients inside hospitals. He added that waste seeping into groundwater “threatens most wells with contamination” and could lead to poisoning cases, while drinking water has become unsafe in many areas.

The hospital director said the accumulation of garbage also “creates a very dangerous psychological and humanitarian environment,” with residents living amid piles of trash stretching through roads and alleyways, heightening their sense of danger and loss of health security.

He urged international organizations to “intervene urgently to deal with the accumulated waste” in the besieged enclave.

The waste buildup is concentrated in northern and southern Gaza, as Israel prevents access to central dumpsites located in border areas it controls under the first phase of the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10.

On Tuesday, Hamas accused Israel of imposing restrictions on the entry of aid and fuel into Gaza, violating the ceasefire agreement.

More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 170,700 others injured in a deadly Israeli war in Gaza since October 2023.