ABNA24 - The Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) documented 760 environmental violations by Israeli occupation forces and settlers in the West Bank between January and September 2026, alongside extensive environmental destruction in Gaza caused by Israel’s genocidal war.
In a statement on Friday marking the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, the authority said the violations included bulldozing farmland, uprooting trees, burning crops, destroying water infrastructure and dumping hazardous waste.
Environmental catastrophe in Gaza
The EQA warned that Gaza faces an unprecedented environmental and humanitarian catastrophe, with an estimated 61 million to 68 million tons of rubble, equivalent to 107 kilograms of debris per square meter.
The debris reportedly contains around four million tons of hazardous waste, at least 50,000 tons of asbestos and more than 100,000 tons of explosive remnants, ammunition and white phosphorus.
According to the authority, Israeli military operations have destroyed or damaged 82% of agricultural land, 97% of fruit-bearing and olive trees, and 95% of vegetation cover.
The Wadi Gaza nature reserve, a major migratory bird corridor, has also been contaminated by sewage.
The war has destroyed 84% of water and sanitation infrastructure, resulting in approximately 120,000 cubic meters of untreated wastewater flowing daily into streets and water systems.
The authority reported a 36-fold increase in watery diarrhea cases and a 384-fold increase in jaundice cases compared with prewar levels.
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