MoSD Warns of Escalating Waste Crisis in the Gaza Strip and Calls for Urgent International Action
The Ministry of Social Development warns of the rapidly deteriorating environmental and public health situation in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war and the near-total collapse of the solid waste management system. This is compounded by extreme summer temperatures that are intensifying the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced families living in tents and temporary shelters. At a time when residents lack even the most basic necessities of life, accumulating waste has become a daily threat to public health and the environment, placing children, older persons, persons with disabilities, individuals with chronic illnesses, and women at heightened risk.
According to United Nations estimates, nearly one million metric tons of solid waste have accumulated across the Gaza Strip, while approximately 1,400 metric tons of additional waste are generated each day. Waste collection, transportation, and safe disposal services have almost completely collapsed due to the widespread destruction of infrastructure, vehicles, and facilities dedicated to waste management.
The accumulation of waste under extreme heat accelerates decomposition, releasing harmful gases and foul odors while allowing contaminated leachate to seep into the soil. This poses serious risks to the environment and groundwater and creates ideal breeding conditions for insects, rodents, and stray dogs, significantly increasing the likelihood of infectious disease outbreaks. These risks are further exacerbated by severe overcrowding in displacement sites, the collapse of the healthcare system, shortages of clean water, and the breakdown of sanitation services.
The war has also devastated much of Gaza’s waste management infrastructure, including collection vehicles, transfer stations, and waste treatment facilities. In addition, the two main sanitary landfills remain inaccessible, leading to the emergence of more than 140 informal waste dumping sites near residential areas and displacement camps, reflecting the scale of the environmental deterioration affecting the Gaza Strip.
These conditions reveal a crisis that extends far beyond environmental concerns and has evolved into a complex public health, humanitarian, and social emergency. The mixing of household waste with medical waste in several locations, together with the accumulation of waste near displacement sites, has significantly increased the risk of skin diseases, respiratory illnesses, and gastrointestinal infections, exposing the most vulnerable groups to heightened danger amid limited healthcare services and restricted access to treatment.
Despite severe resource constraints, the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of State for Relief Affairs continue implementing humanitarian interventions to protect the most vulnerable families. In this context, the Ministry is closely monitoring the situation of families whose shelters are located adjacent to waste dumps or informal waste collection sites. In coordination with partners and relevant authorities, efforts are underway to identify safer locations by establishing alternative camps, providing tents for affected families, and facilitating their relocation away from waste accumulation sites, thereby reducing their exposure to environmental and health hazards, particularly for children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
The continued accumulation of waste within residential neighborhoods and around displacement camps is depriving families of even the most basic conditions for safe living and further deepening the suffering of communities already enduring displacement, overcrowding, and the absence of essential services.
International assessments indicate that current response efforts remain far below the scale of existing needs. The waste management sector requires approximately USD 62 million in urgent funding over the next 18 months to restore waste collection and transportation services and rehabilitate essential infrastructure. Recovery and reconstruction needs for the waste management sector are estimated to exceed USD 110 million to ensure sustainable service delivery and protect public health.
In light of these circumstances, the Ministry of Social Development calls upon the international community, the United Nations, humanitarian organizations, and donor partners to take immediate action by providing the necessary funding, facilitating the entry of equipment, machinery, fuel, and operational supplies, ensuring safe access for technical personnel, and supporting municipalities and relevant authorities in resuming safe waste collection, transportation, and treatment operations. The Ministry also calls for the removal of informal waste dumps located near residential communities and displacement sites in order to prevent further deterioration of the environmental and public health situation.
The Ministry reiterates that protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip extends beyond the provision of food, medicine, and shelter. It also requires ensuring a safe and healthy environment that preserves human dignity and safeguards the right to live free from pollution and disease. Under the current circumstances, waste management is no longer a routine municipal service—it has become an urgent humanitarian intervention, as essential as food, water, and healthcare, given its direct role in protecting lives and preventing the spread of disease.