The toxic waste of the Gaza war has reached Israel

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s opinion piece says the environmental damage from the Gaza war is now affecting Israel, especially through sewage, contaminated debris and other waste moving across shared coastal and groundwater systems. The article notes that earlier in August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and representatives of the Board of Peace agreed to create a working group on sanitation and public health affecting both Israel and Gaza, though its structure and membership have not been disclosed.

According to the article, Gaza’s damaged power and sanitation systems are sending large volumes of untreated sewage into the Mediterranean, and ocean currents carry some of that pollution north toward Israeli waters. It says this has contributed to repeated disruptions at the Ashkelon desalination plant and may also affect marine life and fisheries. The piece adds that rubble from Gaza, including material that may contain heavy metals, asbestos, explosives residue and other contaminants, is being moved to sites inside Israel and the West Bank, raising concerns about air, soil and water pollution.

The author argues that these risks highlight how closely linked Gaza and Israel are environmentally, and says health and sanitation problems in Gaza cannot be fully contained at the border. The article frames the issue as both a public health problem and a longer-term environmental one, while cautioning that proper handling of hazardous debris normally requires strict international safeguards.