Gaza: Deputy Head of the Gaza Strip Municipalities Union, Alaa Al Din Al Batta, warned that Gaza is facing one of the most severe environmental, public health, and humanitarian crises in its history as a result of the war.
According to Qatar News Agency, Al Batta emphasized that the environmental system and water and sanitation services had reached a state of near-total collapse due to the ongoing blockade and extensive destruction of critical infrastructure. He reported that approximately 80 percent of buildings and facilities across the territory were destroyed or damaged, leading to the accumulation of over 57 million tons of debris. This rubble contains hazardous materials and unexploded ordnance, posing a continuous threat to residents and the environment.
Al Batta detailed that the water sector sustained extensive damage, with more than 80 percent of water infrastructure destroyed, including wells, transmission networks, pumping stations, and desalination plants. This extensive destruction has drastically reduced water availability, leaving residents with less than 14 liters of water per person per day, far below internationally recognized minimum standards.
Municipalities and service providers are struggling to operate the remaining wells and desalination facilities, which need to function continuously to supply over 140,000 cubic meters of drinking and household water daily to a population of more than two million people. The demand has further increased amid high summer temperatures.
The destruction of treatment plants and major transmission networks has led to a widespread collapse of the wastewater system. As a result, crews are forced to discharge more than 80,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage into the sea and surrounding environment each day, creating what Al Batta describes as the risk of a large-scale public health and marine disaster.
Al Batta highlighted the crucial role of pumping stations that manage approximately 50,000 cubic meters of wastewater daily. However, severe shortages of fuel, lubricants, spare parts, and maintenance supplies threaten to halt operations at any time, potentially leading to flooding and contamination of residential areas.
He cited the Sheikh Radwan lagoon in northern Gaza City as an example of the worsening environmental crisis. The lagoon receives over 10,000 cubic meters of sewage each day from urban neighborhoods. Repeated technical failures and fuel shortages affecting the associated pumping station could result in large-scale flooding of wastewater, posing direct environmental and health risks to tens of thousands of residents in nearby densely populated areas and accelerating the spread of disease.
The environmental consequences have also severely impacted the health sector. Hospitals and medical facilities heavily depend on desalination plants to provide safe water for medical procedures and treatment services. The inability to operate these facilities due to shortages of fuel and maintenance materials threatens the continuity of critical services, particularly kidney dialysis units and intensive care departments, placing the lives of thousands of patients and wounded people at risk.
In the solid waste sector, Al Batta reported that municipalities face unprecedented challenges due to shortages of heavy equipment and fuel, as well as restrictions on access to major landfill sites in eastern Gaza. These restrictions have resulted in the accumulation of nearly one million cubic meters of waste in temporary and informal dumping sites within residential neighborhoods and around displacement centers. The Firas Market dump site in central Gaza City, where over 370,000 cubic meters of waste have accumulated, contributes to the spread of insects and rodents, foul odors, and increasing environmental contamination risks.
Al Batta issued an urgent appeal to international mediators, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, humanitarian organizations, donor countries, and the broader international community to intervene. He called for the immediate and sustained entry of fuel, diesel, lubricants, spare parts, pumps, and chlorine needed to disinfect water and operate desalination and wastewater facilities. Additionally, he urged for the lifting of restrictions on the entry of heavy equipment and materials required to repair and rehabilitate damaged water and sewage networks and treatment plants.
He stressed the need for technical teams, municipalities, and international organizations to be granted safe access to all damaged facilities, particularly those in eastern Gaza, to carry out emergency repairs. Al Batta emphasized the necessity of urgent and sustained international financial and humanitarian support to ensure the continuation of basic municipal services and the protection of public health.
Lastly, Al Batta called for the immediate development and implementation of a comprehensive reconstruction program for the water, sanitation, and energy sectors, which are essential to the population's survival. He stated that such efforts should proceed alongside a complete lifting of the blockade and the free and regular flow of humanitarian aid, construction materials, and equipment needed to restore essential services across Gaza.