Gaza’s ‘ecocide’ of toxic waste reaches Israel amid ongoing conflict

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has led to a significant environmental crisis, with toxic waste now extending its impact into neighboring Israel. The destruction of Gaza's essential infrastructure, including electricity and sanitation systems, has resulted in over 100,000 cubic meters of raw, untreated sewage being discharged daily into the Mediterranean Sea or onto land. Due to prevailing Mediterranean currents flowing from south to north, this contaminated waste is carried directly into Israeli coastal waters.

This cross-border pollution has had serious consequences for Israel. The Ashkelon desalination plant in southern Israel has been forced to cease operations multiple times due to high levels of fecal bacteria in the water originating from Gaza's wastewater. Furthermore, the untreated sewage fosters toxic algae blooms, creates marine "dead zones," and contaminates local marine life with various toxins, heavy metals, and pathogens. As fish migrate across maritime boundaries, this poses a direct health risk to both Palestinian and Israeli consumers of seafood.

Beyond sewage, the conflict has generated an estimated 61 million tonnes of rubble in Gaza by September 2025, much of which contains hazardous materials like heavy metals, white phosphorus, industrial chemicals, and asbestos fibers. Concerns are rising as Israel has begun transporting some of this debris into its own territory and the West Bank, potentially transferring these dangerous pollutants directly to disposal sites. The shared environmental systems, including coastal ecosystems and aquifers, mean that the ecological devastation in Gaza presents a growing public health challenge for the wider region.