Gaza’s unseen war: Where conflict meets environmental collapse

Gaza’s survival systems are collapsing under a dual assault: relentless bombardment and an accelerating environmental catastrophe. What began as war has triggered a cascading ecological disaster, poisoning water sources, eradicating farmland, and trapping civilians in a toxic landscape where thirst, disease, and hunger are weapons as deadly as bombs.

The water crisis: A looming mass casualty event

The most immediate threat is the near-total annihilation of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. By early 2025, over 85 per cent of wells, desalination plants, and pumping stations were destroyed or disabled with all five sewage treatment plants collapsing by late 2024, according to Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics, March 2025.

The consequences are visceral and lethal: millions of cubic metres of raw sewage flood streets daily and pour into the Mediterranean, contaminating coastal waters and spiking cholera risks according to Natasha Hall, Anita Kirschenbaum, and David Mitchell. Compounding this, Gaza’s sole aquifer was already 97 per cent undrinkable by late 2023 according to Fred Pearce, while blockade-induced fuel shortages silenced most remaining water sources.

Only 40 per cent of pre-war water production functions which has forced families to rely on polluted wells or exorbitantly priced tankers, according to Reuters. James Elder, a spokesperson of (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) UNICEF warns that children “will begin to die of thirst” as water scarcity becomes a life‑or‑death crisis, according to Jason Burke and Malak A Tantesh.

Agriculture ashes, toxic legacies

Gaza’s ability to feed itself lies buried under rubble and salt. A May 2025, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN) survey reveals a moonscape: under five per cent of cropland remains usable, over 80 per cent of farmland is bombed, salinised, or mined, and 77.8 per cent of fields are inaccessible. Critical irrigation systems—71.2 per cent of greenhouses, 82.8 per cent of agricultural wells—are shattered. The Strip’s breadbasket is now dust, forcing thousands into total dependence on aid.

Beneath this devastation lies another threat: 42 million tonnes of rubble laced with asbestos, heavy metals, and unexploded ordnance. This toxic blanket generates hazardous dust, poisoning Gaza’s air, soil, and fragile groundwater—a long-term health and environmental time bomb, according to Sudev Kiyada, Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa, Adolfo Arranz, Simon Scarr and Angus Mcdowall.

The conflict’s hidden carbon toll amplifies the crisis: military operations emitted 1.89 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent – over 99 per cent from Israeli forces, while rebuilding could release 29.4 million tonnes—rivaling Afghanistan’s annual emissions, according to Nina Lakhani.

Weaponised scarcity and regional poisoning

Essential resources have been systematically weaponised. Israeli strikes decimated Gaza’s power grid, bombed solar arrays, and targeted fuel depots, paralysing water pumps and sewage systems. Raw sewage now backflows into homes and clinics. Humanitarian agencies report water access at 10-25 per cent of pre-war levels, with municipalities citing “fuel depletion has severely affected essential services... resulting water deficits, solid waste accumulation and wastewater leakage”, according to Human Rights Watch.

This engineered collapse isn’t contained: Gaza’s contaminated aquifer threatens Israeli wells, its sewage flows risk fouling Israeli desalination plants, and toxic dust drifts into Israel and Egypt’s Sinai, causing fish kills and groundwater pollution. Gaza risks becoming a permanent “ecological sacrifice zone,” poisoning its neighbours for decades.

Paths forward: From ceasefire to climate justice

Amid the ruin, experts propose an “ecological ceasefire”: immediate solar-powered water pumps and decentralised sewage treatment to avert epidemics, followed by cross-border soil remediation, reforestation, and shared solar/water grids to build mutual dependence. Simultaneously, calls grow to include military emissions in UN climate reports and pursue legal accountability for environmental destruction, according to Farah Al Hattab.

Yet competing visions for Gaza’s future loom, including leaked plans proposing techno‑utopian enclaves. One drafted by Israeli and Boston Consulting insiders envisioned a “Trump Riviera” resort strip and an “Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone” to drive Gaza’s post‑war economy, as per Ben Quinn. Critics argue such blueprints ignore Gazans’ real needs and marginalise local voices, echoing colonial mindsets.

Conclusion: The soil beneath peace

Gaza’s poisoned wells and toxic rubble epitomise a horrifying truth: environmental collapse is now a core strategy and consequence of modern conflict. Without centering water security and ecological restoration in peace efforts, the region faces irreversible disaster. As the Middle East heats faster than the global average, Gaza’s fate—whether a shared recovery or a toxic ghostland—will echo far beyond its borders. A lasting ceasefire, advocates insist, must begin with joint solar panels on shattered rooftops and clean water flowing across trenches. Survival, and perhaps peace, depends on healing the land first.

Tavish Bhardwaj is a former intern at Down To Earth

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth