GAZA, (PIC)
The Gaza Center for Human Rights has expressed deep concern over the unprecedented environmental and public health deterioration in the Gaza Strip, warning that conditions have reached catastrophic levels, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced people and residents as a result of the ongoing Israeli military campaign and blockade.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the organization said its field team had documented a widespread spread of rodents, rats and mice, as well as harmful insects, amid the continued blockade and restrictions on the entry of essential supplies needed to control these infestations.
The group stressed that Gaza’s waste crisis has become one of the most severe environmental crises in the region’s modern history. According to a UNDP report, approximately 900,000 tons of waste accumulated between October 2023 and December 2025. Meanwhile, the UN WASH cluster estimates that more than 340,000 tons of waste are located near displacement shelters, while the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates around 40 million tons of debris from destroyed buildings across the territory.
Israeli authorities have restricted the transfer of waste to official landfill sites located within designated zones under ceasefire arrangements, while more than 100 waste collection vehicles have reportedly been destroyed or confiscated. The remaining vehicles require maintenance, fuel, and oil, all of which are in critically short supply.
The rights center warned that the massive accumulation of waste around tents and shelters is not merely a visual nuisance or a source of foul odors but a catalyst for an impending public health disaster, creating ideal conditions for the spread of skin, intestinal, and systemic diseases.
The organization documented testimonies from displaced residents describing how rodents have become a daily threat to their safety and the limited food supplies they have left.
Alia Al-Sayed, 33, said, “My husband bought rat poison, but it doesn’t work. Lizards drag the traps away after eating the bait. What hurts most is that we paid $70 for a kilo of flour at the height of the famine, how can I throw it away after rats got to it? We’ve been forced to eat flour full of insects. Every night I stay up repairing the tent because lizards tear it apart. I just want to sleep in peace.”
Akram Ahmed from Khan Yunis said, “Rats jump over the children at night and terrify them. It’s not just fear, they eat what little food we have and ruin our clothes. We’re living under a collapsing shelter with no escape from this invasion.”
Aisha Hamid in al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis, added, “All the camps are suffering from biting insects, especially fleas. Our children are in pain from constant itching and stings. We’ve tried simple treatments, but proper medicine isn’t available at the health center.”
Mohammad Abu Issa said, “This waste needs to be moved away from people; there’s no other solution. What will it cause? Disease. Rodents are spreading frighteningly, and there are no poisons or effective means to control them.”
From a medical perspective, Dr Bassam Zaqout, Director of Medical Relief in Gaza, warned that leptospirosis, a disease transmitted through rat urine, is shifting from a theoretical risk to a tangible reality in the camps.
He pointed to a 2025 study published in the journal Public Health, which found that the destruction of sewage infrastructure and the accumulation of waste and debris have created an ideal environment for the proliferation of flies, mosquitoes, fleas, and rodents in the complete absence of pest control measures.
The rights center stated that Israeli authorities continue to block the entry of pesticides and rodent control substances under the pretext of “dual-use” restrictions, describing this as a systematic use of environmental hazards as a means of pressure against civilians.
It also noted that Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention obliges an occupying power to ensure the provision of medical supplies and essential goods necessary to maintain public health, an obligation undermined by the ongoing blockade. The right to health and the right to a clean environment, the group stressed, are fundamental human rights protected under international law.
The center argued that the deliberate denial of pest control tools and the destruction of waste management systems constitute a form of collective punishment prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. It further warned that creating unlivable conditions may amount to acts intended to force displacement, in violation of international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute.
The Gaza Center for Human Rights called on the international community to apply immediate pressure to open crossings and allow the entry of heavy equipment to collect and transport waste.
It also urged authorities to permit the import of insecticides and rodenticides for public health use, support the establishment of safe temporary landfill sites, and provide fuel for the limited number of remaining vehicles.
The organization further called on the World Health Organization and UN agencies to urgently deploy specialized technical teams to assess environmental risks, conduct field surveys on rodent-borne diseases, and supply necessary vaccines and medications to address anticipated outbreaks, including leptospirosis, cholera, scabies, and typhoid.
Finally, it urged international donors and humanitarian organizations to provide emergency funding to bridge gaps in waste management programs and to support local municipalities in maintaining what remains of their operational capacity and rehabilitating sanitation teams.
