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The Gaza Municipality warned on Monday of an imminent environmental and health disaster in the city, with more than a quarter of a million tonnes of waste accumulating in various areas. The crisis is worsened by a severe shortage of drinking water and the leakage of sewage, posing a threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents.

The municipality’s spokesperson, Assem Al-Nabih, said in a recorded statement that “Gaza City is facing serious health and environmental crises, which are causing the spread of rodents and insects amid a shortage of water and massive piles of waste across different neighbourhoods.”

Al-Nabih explained that the municipality is unable to deal with the crisis, as more than 85 per cent of its heavy and medium machinery has been destroyed during the two-year-long Israeli war.

He also pointed out the lack of essential equipment and supplies needed to provide basic services.

Al-Nabih added that large amounts of sewage have leaked into city streets, worsening the health and environmental situation, and warned that epidemics could spread if the current conditions persist.

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.