Gaza municipality warns of environmental disaster as 250,000 tonnes of waste pile up amid shortage of machinery

The Gaza municipality spokesman said residents of the Gaza Strip continue to suffer from water shortages and difficulty accessing water, warning that the humanitarian and service-related hardships the population endured over the past two years will persist even after the end of the war, due to the widespread destruction inflicted on infrastructure and essential services.

He added that around a quarter of a million tonnes of accumulated waste across the Strip constitutes a serious environmental and health disaster that threatens citizens’ lives, amid a severe shortage of the heavy machinery and equipment needed to collect and transport it after many such vehicles were destroyed during the war, calling for urgent intervention and international support to assist municipalities in their efforts to rehabilitate essential services.