Stopping Fuel Supplies Into Gaza Harms Israel

Aug 21, 2020 | Gidon Bromberg
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When Hamas, which seeks to pressure the government of Qatar to continue sending money into Gaza launch rockets and balloon bombs into Israel, not only do innocent civilians on both sides of the border pay a heavy price, but so does the environment. The balloon bombs have caused an average of 20 fires to break out each day on the Israeli side of the Gaza border, burning fields and forests. One response of the Israeli government to the new flair up of violence by Hamas is to stop all fuel supplies into Gaza. This is having a boomerang impact of further environmental damage in Gaza and Israel alike, that in the midst of the corona pandemic could escalate the public health crisis that we are already experiencing.

With the much needed fuel no longer being supplied, Gaza’s only power station has ceased to operate, cutting electricity supply from 12 hours a day to just four hours a day. Without fuel and electricity, sewage-pumping stations in the northern Gaza area of Beit Hanun have ceased operating. As a result, thousands of liters of raw sewage are once again flowing from Gaza into Israel through Wadi Hanun, polluting the cross-border stream and shared groundwater.