Gaza Strip in ecological crisis – how war has destroyed the environment

The world breathed a sigh of relief when the long-awaited ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was signed in January 2025. However, the Gaza Strip does not have much reason to celebrate – there are reports from the area of the recent conflict of the dire state of water resources and extensive devastation of nature and landscape.

Water crisis even before the war

The Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of land located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The climate here is hot and dry, with rainfall occurring only in winter. The main watercourse is the Wadi Gaza River, around which the only wetlands in the area extend.

The Gaza Strip was originally quite rich in groundwater, which was extracted through shallow wells dug into the sand. It was through these that a third of the area was cultivated. But the influx of refugees has increased the local population to 2 million over the past 70 years, translating into one of the highest population densities in the world. Even before the outbreak of war, water intake was three times higher than total rainfall and seepage from Wadi Gaza. As a result, the level of the aquifer dropped, and seawater began to seep into the ground.

According to the UN, in 2023 as much as 97 percent of the underground sources in the Gaza Strip did not meet World Health Organization requirements for drinking water. Resources from wells began to be reserved for agriculture, and water for the population came mainly from seawater desalination plants, which were built with international support, and an aid water supply from Israel. However, the war changed the reality from bad to worse.

Gas zone without water

The outbreak of conflict in October 2023 left most of the coastal Palestinian territory without electricity. Desalination plants ceased to function, and Israel reduced resources sent through the pipeline. The Palestinian Water Supply Company reported in October 2024 that 85 percent of Gaza’s water and sewage facilities had been partially or completely destroyed.

In addition to power outages, widespread destruction of infrastructure caused by warfare has become a problem. Sewage treatment plants, pumping stations, water reservoirs, waterworks and a great many wells were damaged. Water intake from the latter decreased from 262,000^m3 per day before the war to 93,000^m3. Desalination plants producing 10,000^{m3 of} water per day ceased to operate in the north, and the efficiency of plants in the south decreased from 27,500^m3 to just 5,000^m3.

According to a Solutions CRM report published in November 2024, only 14 percent of households in the Gaza Strip used public water supplies. Most residents drew it from potentially contaminated wells or private cisterns. Unfortunately, Israeli plans to flood Hamas’ underground tunnels, which measure more than 450 kilometers in length, with seawater threatens to further contaminate groundwater.

Sewage in the Mediterranean Sea

The devastation of public infrastructure and severe restrictions on electricity supply have also resulted in the suspension of operations at most wastewater treatment plants. Sources in the Gaza Strip report that the Israeli army has managed to destroy even the photovoltaic panels that power the treatment plants. The result has been dramatic – according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), some 100,000^{square meters of} wastewater is being discharged into the Mediterranean Sea and onto the land surface every day.

The situation threatens marine ecosystems, but also the population of the entire region (including Israel), where much of the drinking water comes from seawater desalination. It is worth mentioning that in 2022. Israel has allowed Gaza to import the cement needed to build three sewage treatment plants on the seashore. Their operation improved the quality of the coastal water so much that fish and monk seals returned, and people were able to enjoy swimming again. Unfortunately, all three treatment plants suspended operations during the conflict, and satellite images revealed the discharge of huge amounts of sewage directly into the sea.

Devastation of nature

As early as September 2024. 67 percent of the trees in the Gaza Strip were destroyed by military action. In January 2025, the rate reached 80 percent. The cause is not only Israeli bombardment, but also the toppling of trees to destroy the hideouts of Hamas fighters. The local population seeking firewood also played its part in the devastation.

These losses have particularly affected the Gaza Strip’s small farms, where next years’ fruit harvests are at serious risk. According to UNEP, the massive destruction of trees will also have a dire impact on the quality of soils, the upper fertile layer of which has been severely disrupted over large areas. This puts the success of further crops in question and increases the risk of desertification.

A real ecological disaster can be spoken of in the case of the Wadi Gaza basin, which is the only regional nature reserve. Surrounded by wetlands, the river attracts large numbers of waterfowl every year, including herons, storks, flamingos, raptor species and Palestinian nectarivores. The area has been suffering for two decades due to diversion of parts of the stream there and sewage flowing from refugee camps. In 2022. A $50 million rehabilitation and pollution reduction project was launched with UN support. The war not only interrupted these efforts, but turned Wadi Gaza into a giant sewage and waste discharge zone.

The Al-Mawasi region, a narrow strip of fertile sand dunes just across the border from Egypt, was not spared from the damage either. Before the war, 135 species of birds, 14 species of mammals and 20 reptiles were observed here. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) designated this ecologically valuable land as a safe zone, resulting in an influx of hundreds of thousands of people from bombed cities. Nonetheless, in July the IDF attacked the Al-Mawasi enclave under the pretext of killing Hamas militants hiding there. Bomb craters remained in place of trees.

Gaza Strip needs a reconstruction program

A full assessment of war damage is still impossible – preliminary estimates are based solely on satellite imagery. According to the UN, the region is littered with 40 million tons of debris containing human remains, asbestos plates, unexploded ordnance and other hazardous materials. In addition, the suspension of waste collection has led to the creation of more than 140 spontaneous dumps where garbage is regularly burned, polluting the air.

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in a September 2024 report, showed that up to two-thirds of Gaza’s farmland had been destroyed. Approximately. 2 thousand. farms, greenhouses and agricultural land, on the site of which the Israeli army has often built embankments and fortifications. Combined with the loss of natural landscape and biodiversity, the damage is a serious threat to the stability of the entire region.

It is unclear whether all the war damage in Gaza can be reversed. The priority now is to rebuild public infrastructure, which will take care of energy supplies, water and sewage management. The Palestinian Authority also stresses the need to cover the food, housing and medical needs of the local population and restore the health of the environment. The challenges are enormous, and reconstruction will not be possible without international assistance. As a first step, however, it is necessary to ensure the smooth progress of the peace process, which is being implemented in phases and still leaves the future of the Gaza Strip in uncertainty.