Environmental Impact of the Conflict in Gaza: Preliminary Assessment of Environmental Impacts
Publisher: UNEP
Date: 2024
This Preliminary Assessment was prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is an initial response to an official request from the State of Palestine, issued in December 2023, that UNEP conduct an assessment of the environmental impacts of the conflict in Gaza. Conflict was ongoing in Gaza throughout preparation of this report. The security situation and access restrictions prevailing in Gaza influenced the type of analysis UNEP was able to undertake.
The Preliminary Assessment provides a summary of what is known about the environmental impacts of the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. In addition to describing known, and in many cases visible, environmental impacts, this assessment highlights conflict-related environmental issues that are of serious concern, but about which the United Nations has limited information at this stage. Some conflict-related impacts—such as the likely contamination of soil and the Coastal Aquifer by chemicals and heavy metals—can only be fully understood through more detailed sampling and analysis, which is not possible under current conditions.
Gaza is a small, densely populated coastal area, the environment of which has been affected by repeated escalations of the decades-long conflict, unplanned urbanization and population growth. Interventions to protect the environment from pollution, and to restore degraded ecosystems, have been highly constrained by complex governance arrangements prevailing since 2007 – which include de facto control of internal arrangements within Gaza by Hamas-led authorities; Israeli closures; and restrictions on the import of goods. These factors have contributed over the past decades to a severely degraded environment, with consequences that reach beyond the confines of the Gaza Strip. Despite these constraints, major investments had been made during the past five years in environmental management – especially in wastewater treatment and solid waste infrastructure. These investments were helping to control contamination and protect people, terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems from pollution. Palestinian and international partners were also taking steps towards the recovery of the critical Coastal Aquifer, and restoration of an internationally important wetland, Wadi Gaza.