Throughout the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of tons of solid waste are piling up in streets, between tents in displaced civilians’ camps, and next to rubble in back alleys. Since October 7, 2023, the collapse of solid waste management has exacerbated the public health crisis.
A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
Palestinians in Gaza are already suffering from malnourishment, a fractured health system, and daily exposure to disease and pollution. The humanitarian organization PAX has launched a new report, “War and Garbage in Gaza,” which uses satellite imagery and open-source investigative (OSINT) methods to visualize how Gaza is drowning in conflict waste after months of fighting.
OVER 225 WASTE LOCATIONS
The report identifies over 225 waste locations across Gaza. These range from massive, hundreds-meter-long garbage heaps to small dump sites that have become breeding grounds for diseases and environmental hotspots. This festering garbage crisis compounds the many other conflict-linked environmental issues outlined in PAX’s earlier report, “Uninhabitable,” from December 2023.
DIRE LIVING CONDITIONS
“The suffering of the people in Gaza is compounded by the deteriorated environmental conditions they face daily,” says Wim Zwijnenburg, project leader for humanitarian disarmament and co-author of the report. “Surrounded by rotting garbage, burning plastics, and living in fear of bombing, the situation is getting more dire by the day. It is urgent that the international community provides support to humanitarian agencies in addressing these problems.”
THE SCALE OF THE CRISIS
This research required analyzing thousands of photos and videos from traditional and social media sources and many gigabytes of satellite imagery provided by Planet. The combination of perspectives helped document the enormous scale of the war-linked garbage crisis and project its potential impact on health and the environment. Waste is found in dangerous proximity to or even within crowded displaced people’s camps, aggravating risks posed to their already debilitated health.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
In other locations, garbage heaps are on the seashore, slowly polluting the marine environment or affecting agricultural land and water sources. The waste management system in Gaza, already limited before the war, has now completely collapsed as collection vehicles have been destroyed and access to official landfills is denied by the Israeli military.
HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
The lessons that PAX has gathered from previous conflicts and broader studies on solid waste dumps point to the serious health implications of unmitigated garbage dumping. Waste attracts rodents and insects, resulting in the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera and skin diseases. Waste burning, a disposal method locals use to manage the current emergency, worsens air pollution, resulting in further respiratory problems.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AND POLLUTION
People scavenging waste for food and sustenance face additional risks from hazardous materials, including medical waste and industrial chemicals. There are growing indications that conflict pollution is linked with the spread of antimicrobial resistance, deepening the medical health crisis. Large waste dumps also threaten soil and groundwater, as leachate—a toxic mix from the waste—seeps into the land and affects groundwater. In the long term, increased methane release from landfills contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
EFFORTS AND CHALLENGES
Ad-hoc clean-up initiatives by humanitarian agencies and local volunteers aim to move the waste to less risky locations. However, solid waste remains a long-term environmental and health problem that will plague Gaza for a long time.
A SILENT THREAT
The UN has warned of a “silent threat” from the waste impacting life-saving humanitarian response. Effective use of earth observation and OSINT is key to bringing these hidden risks to the foreground to inform humanitarian response and ensure inclusion of these issues in the post-conflict phase.
