Gaza’s families forced to shelter in landfills as Israel attacks

On the outskirts of a massive landfill in central Gaza City, and amid piles of rotting garbage, dozens of Palestinian families pitched flimsy tents as a site of refuge. 

The stench of decaying waste saturates the air, mingling with the buzzing of flies and the scurrying of rats. Children’s cries echo throughout the new camp, blending with the background hum of despair.

These Palestinian families from the towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, in the north of Gaza, had only recently returned to their homes following a fragile ceasefire that took effect on 19 January and lasted nearly 50 days.  

But on 18 March, Israel resumed its military campaign and unleashed fresh mass evacuation orders and bombardment, which drove thousands of Palestinian residents south once again. 

Having nowhere else to go, many sought refuge next to a landfill with toxic waste.

‘Is that too much?’

“It is like we are trapped in a never-ending nightmare,” Eman Awad, a 35-year-old mother of four who fled Beit Lahia after her neighbourhood was bombed, and several neighbours were killed, told The New Arab. 

“We were living in a tent but felt relatively safe during the truce. We thought we could start over, even if it was simple. But everything collapsed in an instant,” she recalled.

“We got a call from the Israeli army telling us we had 15 minutes to evacuate. I grabbed my children and ran. My youngest was crying because he had left his favourite toy behind. We ran through the streets under the sound of shelling. It was like Judgment Day,” Awad added. 

After two gruelling days, Awad and her children arrived at the landfill. They struggled to find a spot to pitch their tent, but her husband finally settled them near a pile of rotting waste. 

“There is no clean water, not enough food, flies and rats are everywhere,” she described.

Her children currently suffer from skin rashes and respiratory problems. Her young daughter frequently wakes up coughing. 

“I cannot sleep at night for fear that rats or insects will bite them,” Awad said. “My child scratches his skin until it bleeds. I feel like I’m being punished for something I didn’t do.”

In a tent nearby, Nisreen al-Kahlout, 38, sits on the ground next to her seven-year-old son, who clutches his legs as he scratches his inflamed skin. His body is covered in red welts.

“Before the war, we had a stable life in Beit Hanoun,” Nisreen told TNA. “We lived in the remains of our home after the previous bombings, but at least it was home.”

But that fragile sense of stability was shattered in a single night.

“The Israeli army bombed the neighbourhood suddenly. We felt the strikes were aimed directly at us,” Nisreen described. She and her family fled under heavy shelling, carrying only a few clothes.

Since arriving at the landfill, her husband and children have also developed severe skin infections. 

“The flies are relentless. The rats come out at night and crawl into the tent. We can’t sleep because of the rats, the insects, and the constant sound of warplanes overhead,” she said. 

As the sun sets, Nisreen cradles her son outside her tent. She whispers, “I don’t want much. Just a safe place with clean water, food, and medicine. Is that too much?”

Gaza’s waste crisis 

The waste crisis in Gaza predates the war, but Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure pushed it to catastrophic levels. According to a United Nations report, Israel’s attacks on sewage networks and waste treatment plants has led to the collapse of Gaza’s already fragile ecosystem.

Israeli road closures and military checkpoints have made it nearly impossible to access Gaza’s two main landfills, forcing local authorities to establish makeshift dumps near residential areas. Over time, these dumps have turned into breeding grounds for disease.

“The landfill next to which these families now live contains approximately half a ton of solid waste contaminated with hazardous materials, including medical waste, plastics, and industrial chemicals,” The UN report noted, describing it as an “environmental time bomb.”

“The waste here is not just household waste, but it is medical waste, plastic, and toxic chemicals,” it added. “It creates an ideal breeding ground for rats and mosquitoes, increasing the risk of disease.”

The Gaza Strip faces an escalating environmental disaster due to war and blockade. Hosni Muhanna, Director of Public Relations at Gaza Municipality, warns that the situation is spiralling out of control.

“We have three main landfills: Juhor al-Dik in the centre, East Jabalia in the north, and Tel al-Zaatar in the south. But all are now virtually inaccessible due to Israeli military operations,” Muhanna told TNA. “We have tried to find alternative solutions, but the war makes it impossible.”

“The municipality has established temporary dumps, but without equipment or fuel, waste collection is minimal. Even when we try to remove the waste, the Israeli military prevents us from crossing checkpoints,” Muhanna said.

The accumulated waste is not just unsanitary; it is deadly. “Medical waste and burning plastic release toxic gases, causing respiratory problems and skin infections among residents,” he added. “Children and women are the most affected, but no one is responding to our calls for help.”

Muhanna fears the crisis could spiral into a full-scale health catastrophe. “We desperately need urgent intervention before Gaza becomes an environmental and health disaster,” he stressed.