The Gaza Center for Human Rights expressed its deep concern regarding the unprecedented environmental and health deterioration in the Gaza Strip, where the situation has reached catastrophic levels, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and residents, as a result of the ongoing Israeli military aggression and blockade.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Center explained that its field team had observed a widespread infestation of rodents (rats and mice) and harmful insects, coinciding with the continued suffocating blockade and the prevention of the entry of essential supplies for combating these pests.
The Center emphasized that the waste crisis in Gaza has become one of the most severe environmental crises in the region’s modern history, with 900,000 tons of waste accumulating between October 2023 and December 2025, according to a UNDP report. The WASH (World Waste Management) group also indicates the presence of more than 340,000 tons of waste near areas sheltering displaced persons, while the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that there are 40 million tons of rubble resulting from the destruction of buildings in the Gaza Strip.
Israel is preventing the transfer of waste to official landfills located within the designated “yellow zone” under the ceasefire agreement. Furthermore, more than 100 waste collection vehicles have been destroyed or rendered unusable, and the remaining vehicles require maintenance or are lacking essential oils and fuel.
The human rights center emphasized that this enormous volume of accumulated waste surrounding the tents of displaced persons and shelters is not merely a visual problem or a source of foul odors, but rather a breeding ground for an imminent epidemic, creating a systemic environment conducive to the spread of skin, intestinal, and systemic diseases.
On the medical front, Dr. Bassam Zaqout, Director of Medical Relief in Gaza, warned that leptospirosis—transmitted through rat urine—is transforming from a theoretical concern into a tangible reality in the camps.
He noted that a field study published in the journal Public Health in 2025 indicated that the destruction of sanitation infrastructure and the accumulation of waste and rubble have created an ideal environment for the proliferation of flies, mosquitoes, fleas, and rats, in the complete absence of pest control measures. The human rights center confirmed that the Israeli occupation authorities continue to prohibit the entry of pesticides and poisons necessary to combat rodents under the pretext of “dual use”, which the center interprets as a systematic use of the environmental epidemic as a tool of pressure on civilians.
