GENEVA, (PIC)
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warns that the Gaza Strip is on the verge of an environmental pollution catastrophe as a result of the devastation caused by the Israeli aggression that has been waged against civilians in the blockaded Strip since October 7.
Speaking at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Euro-Med called on the Council and its member states to put pressure on Israel to immediately stop its indiscriminate attacks on the Gaza Strip and to hold it accountable for its crimes and grave violations.
For his part, Mohammed Al-Maghbat, Director of the Regional Office of the Euro-Med Monitor in Beirut, said – in a speech he delivered during an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the issue of the obligations of human rights to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment – that thousands of Palestinians are languishing under the rubble of their homes in Gaza, after they were destroyed in relentless Israeli airstrikes with no prior notice, while their fate remains unknown to this day.
He added, “Israeli indiscriminate attacks have left more than 70% of residential buildings and infrastructure in Gaza in ruins,” noting that in the midst of this devastation, a major pollution crisis looms on the horizon.
Al-Maghbat explained that with Israel cutting off fuel supplies required to treat sewage and waste, the streets are now filled with increasing piles of garbage with dire consequences.
Contaminated water sources quickly spread diseases, endangering the health and well-being of more than two million residents, he added.
