Gaza’s water turns poisonous as Israel’s genocide leaves toxic aftermath
Israel’s war on Gaza has not only razed entire neighbourhoods to the ground, displaced families multiple times and decimated medical facilities, but also poisoned the very ground and water on which Palestinians depend.
Four weeks into a fragile ceasefire, which Israel has violated daily, the scale of the environmental devastation is becoming painfully clear.
“The collapse of sewage treatment infrastructure, the destruction of piped systems, and the use of cesspits for sanitation have likely increased contamination of the aquifer that supplies much of Gaza with water,” a recent report by the UN’s Environment Programme said.
Gaza ‘seeing the byproducts of the devastation’
An environmental tragedy is unfolding with each passing day here in the worst form possible.
It impacts livelihoods and safety with hazards everywhere. Aside from the physical destruction from Israel’s two-year bombardment, there are also the long-term consequences of contamination.
The air people breathe, the water they drink, and the food they eat are not healthy. People here ask us if, at some point, there’s going to be a meaningful intervention to have access to clean drinking water.
The remaining plots of agricultural land have been covered with dust, debris and toxic materials from the bombing. But people don’t have any choice when it comes to safety. When it comes to survival versus safety, safety only occupies a small part. People are not thinking about it.
It’s an everyday battle just to find food and water. The bombs may have stopped here – we’re not seeing the mass killing that occurred daily over the past two years – but now we’re seeing the byproducts of the devastation.
Environmental and humanitarian crisis in Gaza has global implications, risk specialist says
Elaine Donderer, a disaster risk specialist, says the environmental and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is no longer “a geographically confined tragedy”. “It’s an ecological collapse, with global implications,” Donderer told Al Jazeera.
According to her, environmental destruction is not a side effect of military activities.
Israeli attacks on Gaza over the last two years have caused unprecedented damage to water, sanitation, agriculture, and air quality infrastructure, a UN report has found.
