Environmental damage in the Gaza Strip caused by the Israel–Hamas war
Effects of the Israel–Hamas war 2023– / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The environmental damage of Gaza caused by the Israel–Hamas war is extensive,[1] due to a combination of destruction of agricultural land, displacement of people, bombing and the Israeli blockade the Gaza Strip is experiencing famine.[1][2][3] By March 2024, nearly half of tree cover and farmland had been destroyed by Israeli forces by bulldozers and bombs.[1][2]
Israeli bombardment and the blockade has led to a total collapse of Gaza's civil infrastructure, including sewage treatment, waste disposal, water management, and fuel supplies. Water has been polluted by 100,000 cubic metres of sewage being discharged into the sea every day due to Israel cutting off fuel supplies. Groundwater has been contaminated by toxins and munitions and air has been polluted by smoke and particulates from bombing. Soils have been degraded by uprooting trees and contaminated by toxins, munitions, heavy bombing and demolitions. Bombing by the Israeli army has created 37 million tonnes of debris and hazardous material, much of which contains human remains and tens of thousands of bombs.[1][2][4]
The size and lasting impact of the systematic and intentional destruction of agriculture have led to calls by the University of London research group Forensic Architecture and the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network for the Israeli Government to be investigated for the Rome Statute war crime of ecocide for “widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment”.[2]