RAMALLAH, December 8, 2025 (WAFA) – The Government Operations Room for Emergency Interventions in the Gaza Strip reviewed today, Monday, the environmental relief and early recovery plan for the Environment Quality Authority (EQA) in Gaza. The plan is part of a set of preliminary sectoral strategies that are continuously updated in coordination with local and international partners. The session assessed the scale of environmental devastation resulting from the ongoing aggression and outlined urgent and medium-term priorities for rehabilitating environmental resources and protecting public health.
Samah Hamad, Chair of the Operations Room, emphasized that the environment sector is among the most devastated in Gaza, noting that its rehabilitation is essential for the recovery of other sectors such as water, health, infrastructure, and agriculture.
Acting EQA Head, Eng. Ahmad Abu Zaher, explained that the war caused unprecedented environmental destruction, including the collapse of nearly 80% of water and wastewater systems and severe contamination of the coastal aquifer. He added that the destruction of more than 2,000 industrial facilities led to major leakage of chemicals, oils, solar-panel components, batteries, and asbestos into soil and surface water.
According to the EQA presentation, debris from destroyed buildings exceeds 60 million tons, including 4 million tons of hazardous waste, 50,000 tons of asbestos, and nearly 100,000 tons of explosives and unexploded ordnance.
Agricultural losses were also catastrophic: 95% of crops, 98% of tree crops, and 89% of annual crops were destroyed. Large agricultural areas were contaminated with wastewater, solid waste, and explosive remnants, while military activity severely damaged soil structure.
On the marine environment, the presentation reported the discharge of 120,000 m³ of untreated wastewater daily into the sea, alongside explosive remnants and hazardous waste. Pollution plumes stretching 700–1,000 meters offshore have reduced fishing areas and contaminated the marine food chain, in addition to destroying 3,700 dunums of coastal ecosystems and 50% of Wadi Gaza Nature Reserve, Gaza’s only nature reserve.
The presentation also noted the emergence of numerous informal waste dumps, the accumulation of more than 700,000 tons of solid waste, and the destruction of sanitary landfills and medical waste treatment facilities, with new contamination linked to mass displacement toward central and southern Gaza.
The EQA estimated greenhouse-gas emissions from 15 months of military operations at 1.89 million tons CO₂-equivalent, while reconstruction may generate up to 31 million tons CO₂-equivalent—more than the annual emissions of 20 countries combined. This poses a severe threat to ecosystems, increases air-pollution levels, and risks long-term respiratory and chronic illnesses, further undermining sustainable-development efforts.
In response to these challenges, the EQA presented a phased plan covering relief, recovery, and comprehensive environmental rehabilitation. Key actions include restoring environmental capacities, providing essential equipment, integrating environmental considerations into relief operations and camp planning, collecting solid waste, curbing informal dumping, identifying and separating hazardous waste, and conducting preliminary air and water pollution assessments.
During the environmental recovery phase, interventions include establishing air-pollution monitoring stations, developing data-collection systems, studying the use of debris for coastal reinforcement, assessing Wadi Gaza Nature Reserve, and preparing a comprehensive hazardous-waste management plan.
The EQA stressed the importance of integrating environmental considerations into relief and recovery planning, documenting environmental impacts, and incorporating climate-change factors into future policies. It also called for pressure on the occupying power to allow a UN Environment Programme expert team into Gaza for a full field-based environmental assessment.
The meeting concluded that protecting Gaza’s environment is fundamental to public health and to the recovery of all sectors, noting that environmental action is now a central component of ensuring the daily survival of millions of affected residents.
K.T
