Gaza Herald – The scale of destruction in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, with more than 60 million tons of rubble left behind by Israel’s ongoing genocide, including 4 million tons of hazardous waste, 50,000 tons of asbestos, and nearly 100,000 tons of unexploded ordnance. Environmental officials warn that the devastation has created one of the largest contamination zones in the region’s history.
More than 80% of Gaza’s water and sewage networks have been wiped out, severely polluting the coastal aquifer. Over 2,000 industrial facilities lie destroyed, while more than 700,000 tons of solid waste now pile up in makeshift dumps after the collapse of proper disposal sites and medical-waste systems. Massive leakage of chemicals, oils, batteries, and asbestos has further poisoned the soil and water.
Along the coast, authorities recorded extensive contamination from sewage, explosives, and hazardous waste stretching 700 to 1,000 meters into the sea, shrinking fishing zones and destroying 3,700 dunams of coastal ecosystems. Half of Wadi Gaza’s nature reserve has been lost.
Agricultural lands have been devastated by sewage runoff, toxic debris, and soil compaction from military vehicles. The genocide has wiped out 95% of crops, 98% of fruit trees, and 89% of annual harvests, leaving Gaza’s food system in ruins.
