GAZA, (PIC)
The Jabalia Al-Nazla Municipality warned on Tuesday of the growing accumulation of waste within its jurisdiction, with its teams unable to collect and dispose of it properly amid the ongoing dire situation in the Gaza Strip — raising fears of an imminent public health and environmental disaster.
In a press statement, the municipality said: “Our teams are unable to collect and dispose of waste as required, due to the main landfill sites being located within areas now controlled by the Israeli army.”
It added that, as a result, crews are being forced to use temporary and random dumping sites, with the situation worsened by the destruction of more than 90% of the municipality’s vehicles and equipment due to repeated Israeli airstrikes on its facilities and garages, particularly the deliberate targeting on 22 April 2025.
The municipality explained that the mounting waste crisis now poses a major threat of a looming health and environmental catastrophe in Jabalia, particularly in light of the severe weakening of Gaza’s already fragile healthcare system as a result of the continued assault and the blockade preventing the entry of essential medical supplies.
The municipality called on all international and humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene, to pressure for an end to the aggression and to facilitate the entry of the necessary machinery and equipment, in order to avert the looming disaster and to ease the suffering of the residents of Jabalia and the Gaza Strip more broadly.
