(MENAFN) The Union of Gaza Strip Municipalities issued a warning on Friday about the dangers posed by 700,000 tons of accumulated garbage in unregulated dumping areas, as local authorities struggle to maintain even the most basic services due to critical shortages of fuel and operational equipment.

Alaa Al-Batta, the union’s deputy head, told a news agency that municipalities are grappling with an “impossible equation” resulting from extensive infrastructure damage, a lack of fuel, and the destruction of machinery and equipment during Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

He emphasized that these combined challenges have rendered municipalities incapable of delivering fundamental services to both residents and displaced populations, even though a month has passed since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, with no noticeable improvement.

The Palestinian official cautioned that the situation could trigger a severe health and environmental catastrophe as waste continues to mount across Gaza.

He stated that roughly 700,000 tons of refuse are accumulating in the northern and southern regions of the strip, while Israel blocks access to central dumping sites situated in border areas it controls under the ceasefire east of the so-called “yellow line.”

Al-Batta also pointed out that this growing waste problem has contributed to the proliferation of mosquitoes and rodents, as well as the contamination of groundwater.

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