The mayor of Khan Younis said the Israeli occupation has completely destroyed the waste-management system in the southern Gaza Strip.
This collapse creates a critical public health risk for hundreds of thousands of people living in cramped conditions. Without functioning disposal systems, the accumulation of refuse and debris threatens to trigger an environmental disaster.
Alaa al‑Din al‑Batta, mayor of Khan Younis municipality, said that the Israeli military controls the primary landfills, specifically Al‑Fakhari and Jihar al‑Di [1]. He said that Israeli forces block collection vehicles from operating, which has led to the total failure of the municipal system [1].
According to al-Batta, the crisis is exacerbated by extreme population density. Approximately 900,000 displaced people are currently living in an area of less than 30 square kilometers in Khan Younis [1]. This concentration of people increases the speed at which waste accumulates and the likelihood of disease outbreaks.
Thousands of tonnes of waste are now piled in random dumps across the city [1]. In addition to municipal trash, the region faces a massive debris problem. Reports indicate that around 15 million tonnes of rubble remain following the Israeli assault [2].
Al-Batta said the situation is a catastrophic and unprecedented environmental and health disaster [1]. He noted that the inability to move waste to designated landfills has left the city with no viable way to maintain basic sanitation.
"The occupation has completely destroyed the waste management system," al-Batta said [1].
“The occupation has completely destroyed the waste management system”
The intersection of massive rubble accumulation and a crippled sanitation system creates a high risk for waterborne diseases and respiratory issues. When waste management fails in a high-density environment, the resulting environmental degradation often leads to long-term public health crises that persist well after active hostilities cease.
