Formerly, recognized for orchards, strawberry fields, sand beaches, and olive trees, the territory of Gaza is now a dystopian landscape of military bases, carters, and ruins. Amidst the broader humanitarian crisis in Gaza, one of the critical aspects that remains unnoticed is the extensive and deliberate environmental destruction caused by Israel’s ferocious military actions. Although the Israeli act of offense has been ongoing for a decade however this act of genocide has been severely exacerbated since October 7 of last year dropping tens of thousands of bombs on Palestinians. So to achieve their goal of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, and to make war continue even after the bullets and bombing stop Israel adopted the policy of creating a self-sustaining catastrophe where they are dismantling those part of life that make life manageable in a place like Gaza.
Despite the ban on the use of chemical weapons, extremely harmful weapons such as the deadly White phosphorus that turns everything into ashes have been used openly by Israel causing unimaginable damage with continuous violation of International Humanitarian Law. However, the far-reaching environmental impact of attacks on Gaza cannot be completely captured. Still, aerial assessment depicts how heavy use of weaponry, explosives, and Israeli ground invasion has caused infrastructure destruction that has introduced toxic pollutants into the air, water, and soil. For those in Gaza air has become unbreathable and shocking research by a British American Study claims that greenhouse gas emissions in the first two months of the dispute have exceeded the yearly carbon footprint of the 20 countries with the greatest global climate effect.
The serious risk of epidemics is looming large as a result of Israel’s intentional destruction of the health care and sanitary system leaving Palestinians without clean water, sewage, waste disposal, and adequate shelter, leading to a rapid decline in the health of Palestinians in Gaza. Since October 7, the Israeli offensive has destroyed 350 kilometers of water network and 90% of Water tanks in Gaza, and the quality of groundwater in the aquifer has deteriorated rapidly as a result of being pumped out to meet the demand of the vast population in Gaza. The Inhumane living conditions are further contributing to the spread of illness and water bone diseases as many individuals are jam-packed into tents and shelters where the lack of access to clean water is making it difficult to maintain hygiene.
Tens of thousands of residential waste and debris have also been accumulating on streets and informal dumpsites due to the shortage of fuel and electricity cut-off needed to run waste management plants. With waste mostly seeping into the Mediterranean Sea, it is not only the sea and its ecosystem that are in danger, but so too is Gaza’s porous soil that threatens to enter the food chain through agricultural activities, affecting the ecosystem and population even far beyond Gaza’s border. Living in an intolerable situation people of Gaza are left with the choice of to either die from military violence or by dehydration, starvation, or diseases. For Gaza’s already unstable environment, conflict is adding fuel to the problem.
Among other humanitarian crises to be faced by the state of Palestine, climate change is at the top of the list. Women are continuously exposed to chemicals it is feared that this will have a long-term impact on health across generations. Cancer and other pulmonic diseases will be widespread as seen in Iraq. The world needs to take immediate action on the war crime Israel is committing as a clean environment is an essential right of human beings. Gaza issue not only needs a permanent and immediate ceasefire to put an end to this nightmare but also steps to provide more aid, food, water, fuel, and basic water facilities. In the form of catastrophic floods and extreme global warming, the world is already experiencing the effects of millions of tons of annual unreported carbon emissions. If Israel is not stopped soon, damage to the environment might be irreversible.
Aleena Wahid is a member of YOP and final year student of International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad. Her research work focuses on security, foreign policy, conflict resolution, and youth empowerment.