Israel is facing weeks of water shortages after an exceptional algae bloom crippled much of its desalination capacity, in a crisis scientists say was triggered when Israeli attacks destroyed much of Gaza\u2019s wastewater infrastructure, causing a massive discharge of untreated sewage.<\/p>\n
\u201cPollution does not recognise political borders,\u201d said the Zalul Environmental Association, an Israeli NGO dedicated to protecting the country\u2019s seas and shores. \u201cThe discharge of untreated sewage from the Gaza<\/a> Strip into the sea is contributing to the worsening crisis affecting the Israeli desalination facilities. The wastewater contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which feed microalgae and cyanobacteria and may intensify their blooms.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite last year\u2019s US-brokered ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by a severe water and sanitation crisis<\/a>. The Palestinian territory is plagued by rodents, and sewage floods its coastline after Israel destroyed its wastewater treatment plants.<\/p>\n Just across the border, a vast bloom of microalgae stretching up to 60 miles (100km) long<\/a> has clogged filters at five of Israel\u2019s six main desalination plants, which were shut down for days<\/a> and have since been operating at a reduced level.<\/p>\n A satellite view shows an algae bloom along Gaza\u2019s coast to Ashdod in Israel. Photograph: Sentinal Hub\/Copernicus.eu<\/p>\n Experts say that after nearly three years of war, the environmental consequences of the destruction in Gaza are now spilling back into Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cThe discharge of untreated sewage from Gaza into the sea increases risks to Israel\u2019s water production infrastructure along the southern Mediterranean coast,\u201d said Jack Gilron, a professor emeritus and desalination expert at Ben-Gurion University\u2019s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research. \u201cThe current incident reinforces the need to prepare against threats to one of Israel\u2019s main sources of drinking water.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 7 October 2023, Israeli bombardment has destroyed 90% of Gaza\u2019s water and sanitation infrastructure, according to a report by M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res<\/a>. Direct strikes have been carried out on wells, carrier lines, reservoirs and desalination units.<\/p>\n Gaza\u2019s water crisis remains severe. Before the war, 80% the territory\u2019s supply came from an aquifer under the coastal strip, but that supply is now contaminated by seawater and wastewater and unfit for human consumption.<\/p>\n Most of Gaza\u2019s drinking water came from desalination plants and three pipelines controlled by the Israeli water authority, but those pipelines were cut at the start of the war and have only partially reopened<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Gaza City, a reservoir has become a sewage collection pool after the destruction of local wastewater infrastructure and pumping stations. Photograph: Faiz Qreqa\/Middle East Images\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Meanwhile, damaged or destroyed distribution networks have left much of the population reliant on water trucks.<\/p>\n For many, this means a stark choice between drinking an extra cup of water or saving it to wash their hands and prevent disease, with acute diarrhoea among the leading causes of illness.<\/p>\n \u201cWe carry water in jerry cans,\u201d said Nas al-Barawi, 34, a mother of five from Beit Lahia. \u201cWe walk with heavy containers or wait for hours in queues. Much of the water is unsafe, and children suffer recurring stomach infections, diarrhoea and skin rashes. Damaged sewage networks and failed pumps have also left wastewater flowing between tents and through residential areas.\u201d<\/p>\n Omar Shatat, the deputy executive director of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility in Gaza, said all five of the territory\u2019s wastewater treatment plants were out of service, leaving an estimated 45,000 cubic metres of untreated sewage to flow into the Mediterranean every day.<\/p>\n In addition, about 15,000 cubic metres of untreated waste a day seeps into the groundwater from soakaway pits, particularly in the informal camps in al-Mawasi.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a catastrophic situation environmentally and from a public-health perspective,\u201d Shatat said. \u201cThe sea is heavily polluted, and the first people affected are Gaza\u2019s residents and displaced people because they are in direct contact with the highest concentrations of sewage.\u201d<\/p>\n A man crosses effluent water that runs from the camps housing displaced families in Gaza City towards the Mediterranean. Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Pat Griffiths, the International Committee of the Red Cross\u2019s spokesperson in Gaza City, said the situation was only likely to get worse with the onset of winter. \u201cPalestinians live surrounded by wastewater. It\u2019s all around them. It\u2019s where they eat, where they get water, where they walk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Shaimaa al-Katari, 37, who has been displaced to al-Mawasi, said: \u201cWe have nowhere to dispose of the water from washing dishes and clothes. We have to let it run into the street, which causes pools of stagnant water to form. Algae and mosquitoes then spread around them and the streets become dirty. We suffer from foul smells, mosquitoes at night and flies during the day, as well as rodents.\u201d<\/p>\n Rats have infested parts of Gaza<\/a> for months, thriving amid raw sewage and piles of rubbish accumulating around overcrowded camps for displaced people.<\/p>\n The Bureij refugee camp in Gaza is fumigated against rodents and insects as infectious diseases increase. Photograph: Hassan Jedi\/Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Israeli communities near the Gaza border have also been grappling with an unprecedented rat infestation<\/a>, with rodents swarming homes and gardens.<\/p>\n \u201cThe consequences [of the war] do not stop at the border,\u201d said Nada Majdalani, the Palestine<\/a> director of EcoPeace Middle East, an environmental peacebuilding organisation. \u201cWe are already seeing an increase in hepatitis A in Gaza. I believe we are on the verge of a catastrophe. And a serious outbreak in Gaza would not necessarily remain within Gaza\u2019s borders.\u201d<\/p>\n