Forgotten Victims of the Gaza War: Environment and Climate
By: Helga Merkelbach
Environment in War Environment in War
In the media, the war in Gaza is primarily viewed in terms of fatalities and destruction (economic damage). Politicians take one side or the other and focus either on Israel's security and the rescue of the remaining hostages or on Palestinian freedom and lament the deaths of over 1% of the population. Rarely do some studies examine the impact of the war on the environment in Gaza and the region, as well as on the climate in the Middle East and beyond. In short, an ecosystem whose destruction primarily and directly affects the survival of the people in Gaza does not leave that of Israelis and other neighbors untouched and ultimately affects the earth and all earth citizens with CO2 emissions and other pollutant particles carried away by the wind.
UNEP preceded an investigation into the consequences of war for the Ukrainian environment by emphasizing that war is inherently destructive. In addition, there is an international law that attempts to prevent excesses of environmental destruction. For example, Articles 35.3 and 55.1 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention of 1949 ask states not to wage wars that cause widespread, long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment.
The term "ecocide" has existed since the Vietnam War, but it is still awaiting international recognition as a war crime.
And what good would it do to destroy nature if perpetrators were punished? In Vietnam, the ecosystem has not yet recovered after more than half a century, despite reforestation. Only three plant species still grow on the battlefields of the 1914-18 trench warfare.
Israel and Palestine in the Middle East Region
At 365 km² and 2.1 million inhabitants, the Gaza Strip is comparable in size to the federal state of Bremen, which only has a around 700,000 inhabitants. 81% of Gazans have had refugee status since 1947/48 and are cared for by the UN refugee organization UNRWA (e.g. with schools and health facilities).
The Mediterranean region, actually the cradle of civilization where the Neolithic Revolution took place, i.e. the transition from hunting and gathering to settling down and growing crops and breeding animals, this region is now warming twenty times faster than the rest of the world. This affects around 550 million people. Global temperatures have risen by 1.1° since pre-industrial times, whereas in Israel and Palestine they have risen by 1.5°. An increase of 4°C is expected by the end of the century. By 2050, there will be 20% less rainfall than now and longer and more frequent droughts. This means increasingly depleted aquifers, depleted soils and, if nothing is done to dispose of waste, groundwater and soil will be contaminated. Whether this particular situation in the Middle East is linked to past wars needs to be investigated. During the Gulf War (1991), over 700 oil wells burned, 240 billion liters of oil, with a smoke cloud of 1000 km by 400 km, toxic particles were released into the atmosphere, carried away and/or settled on plants, animals, soil and people for an unknown period of time at an unknown distance from the site of the war. Since the Gulf War, droughts in Israel and Palestine have been occurring more frequently and lasting longer than in previous decades.
Environment in Gaza before 7 October 2023: Soil
Despite the basic climatic conditions and the already deteriorating conditions, by 2005 it had been proven in Gaza that agriculture is possible and can feed a large number of people. Israeli settlers produced dairy products for Israel and even fruit, vegetables and flowers for export in meadows, fields and greenhouses. When the settlers left, almost all of the production facilities and greenhouses were dismantled. In 2006, following the elections of Hamas as the government in Gaza, which were not recognized by Israel, the Israeli blockade began. Imports and exports were subject to Israeli inspections and declined massively.
Palestinian farmers, especially in the north, produced almost exclusively for the self-sufficiency of Gaza. But the Israeli military sprayed trees with pesticides or leveled them and prevented farmers from accessing their fields. Israel justified the limitations and destruction of agricultural potential with the alleged argument that violent Palestinians were sneaking up to the border in the north and east, covered by vegetation, in order to fire rockets at Israeli locations within easy range.
The five wars (2008/9, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022) further destroyed the soil for agriculture, combined with a blockade that made reconstruction difficult, endangered the ground for growing food with explosives and contaminated it. The wall and security fence around the whole of Gaza (completed in December 2021) also includes a buffer zone, i.e. an empty strip and fields that farmers are not allowed to work regularly.
Environment in Gaza before 7 October 2023: Water
The provisional arrangements of the Oslo Accords (1994/95) obliged Israel to supply a certain amount of water to the Palestinians. Since the negotiations never continued as planned and the amount was therefore not adjusted to the increasing number of inhabitants, Gaza is undersupplied with water. The five previous wars have also destroyed water infrastructure, which was only partially restored after the wars.
Groundwater from the coastal aquifer has been over-exploited. Droughts contributed to the fact that it was not fully replenished. War material, sewage and rubbish contaminated the groundwater. Since the blockade, too little construction material for disposal facilities has reached Gaza, which could have limited or prevented the pollution and contamination of the water.
On top of this, the security installation around Gaza was most likely also rammed into the ground as a wall up to approx. 40 meters deep in order to prevent Hamas from building tunnels and underground access to Israel. In other words, the wall goes through the groundwater layer and hinders the flow of water from the aquifer from east (Israel) to west (Gaza).
Israeli agriculture between the mountains of the West Bank and the Gaza wall absorbed water for irrigation and stopped further flow into Gaza. During heavy rains in winter, pictures could be seen of water piling up above ground on the concrete wall.
All these circumstances of occupation, blockade and missing arrangement on the use of water between Israel and Palestine / Gaza led to lack of water and its contamination. Around 96% of the drinking water in Gaza were contaminated, far beyond the guidelines of the World Health Organization. Gazans helped themselves to purified, healthy water with thousands of household-sized filter systems. However, the rise in sea water levels and the drop in groundwater levels are irrevocably leaking seawater into the area and salinizing the water and soil. In June 2023, a seawater desalination plant in the south of Gaza was expanded, with the EU and UNICEF contributing to the funding.
Environment in Gaza before 7 October 2023: Waste disposal and the marine ecosystem of the Mediterranean
Waste and wastewater were also a major problem even before 7 October 2023. International aid had a hard time asserting itself against Israel and importing material for sewage treatment plants to Gaza. Israel feared dual use, i.e. the possible use of components for Hamas military purposes. Wars meant further setbacks for waste and sewage disposal. So waste was disposed of in the Mediterranean.
Fishermen were no longer allowed to use the 20 nautical miles agreed in the Gaza-Jericho Agreement of 1994. Israel feared that fishermen could deliver weapons to Hamas on their boats, so it set the security zone at three nautical miles. Of the 10,000 registered fishermen in 2000, 3,500 were still working in 2023. But they were increasingly fishing in the doldrums in the truest sense of the word.
The extent to which the sea was polluted can be seen from the fact that the Israeli seawater desalination plant in Ashkelon, which is located close to the border, had to cease operations on several occasions because rubbish from Gaza was clogging its screens. Israel can now supply 80% of its population with drinking water from seawater desalination plants. However, the concerns of environmentalists, who fear that the marine ecosystem will be impaired in the long term because all minerals, including salts, are present in the sea in higher concentrations than the marine world can tolerate after water extraction, are hardly listened to.
In terms of groundwater, soil, air and sea, it can therefore be said that the air was moderately/periodically affected (by wars) even before the current war. The soil can only be used for agriculture to a limited extent. Almost 100 % of the groundwater is no longer drinkable. The marine system has been damaged.
Impact of the current Gaza war on the environment and climate
In comparison to the previous Gaza wars (and also in comparison to other wars such as World War I and II, the Vietnam War or the Gulf War), the current Gaza war is exceptional in terms of the quantity and quality of warfare, as well as its intensity in a small and heavily populated area. Science and UNEP already agree that Gaza has become "unlivable" in a very short time, i.e. nothing and nobody can live here anymore, no plants, no animals in biodiversity, no people (regardless of whether they are of Israeli or Palestinian nationality).
Impact of the War on the Soil
In the first six weeks alone, Israel dropped 29,000 bombs. By comparison, the USA used 29199 bombs in Iraq over the course of a year. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense recorded an increase to around 3500 bombs dropped in the first three months of 2024. In Gaza, bombs of up to 1000 kg are mainly used to penetrate deep into the ground and shatter concrete (from tunnels) at a greater range. In the Vietnam War, the USA used 250 kg bombs that dug craters nine metres in diameter into the ground. Despite all efforts, the ecosystem in Vietnam has not yet been restored at the crater sites after fifty years. - In Gaza, the bombs are tearing craters twelve meters in diameter into the earth. Satellite images show craters close together in the north and centre of Gaza.
Well over half (estimates are imprecise, possibly two thirds) of the housing units have been destroyed, as have hospitals, educational institutions, production facilities - including all the small water filters, but also the seawater desalination plant and waste disposal facilities. In any case, Israel has restricted energy supplies and water deliveries, destroyed pumps and waste disposal facilities. This is what makes the humanitarian situation so catastrophic.
The destruction of the buildings releases hazardous substances, e.g. building materials such as asbestos or heavy metals. Cadaver poison and unexploded munitions contaminate the soil and will preclude the production of healthy food for many decades. Even living there could jeopardize health in the future.
On top the Israeli military has now widened the buffer zone in the north and east of Gaza and cleared agricultural land in order to create a fast access road for the army/supplies. The fertile layer of soil is or will be permanently eroded as a result; nothing is supposed to grow here for military reasons.
Impact of the War on the Water
Soil and water are equally affected by contamination from military material. Water was only drinkable after filtering it anyway. Now filter systems have been destroyed or there is a lack of fuel to use them. The EU-funded desalination plant is also broken. Just how empty the aquifer is can be seen from the fact that people in refugee camps collected rainwater running off the tents in the winter of 2023/24.
In addition, Israel had already started to flood the Hamas tunnels with seawater, but refrained from doing so. Possibly because flooding would permanently damage the load-bearing capacity of future buildings. - So far, the Israeli government has not presented any plans for what they want to do with Gaza after a their stated victory over Hamas. Perhaps the test flooding has made them realize that even an annexation of the Gaza Strip after the end of the war would present them with reconstruction difficulties that no war in the world has ever caused after a victory.
Impact of the War on the Marine Ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea
The majority of the population was homeless shortly after the war began. The vast majority went on the run. It was soon reported that hundreds of people were sharing one toilet in emergency shelters. As Israel hardly allowed any fuel through at the border crossings, pumps soon failed and with them the waste and sewage disposal systems. As early as the beginning of November 2023, figures emerged about the volume of untreated wastewater and rubbish that accumulates on land or is simply released into the sea. UNEP speaks of at least 100,000 m³ per day. This leads to high concentrations of chlorophyll and organic suspended matter in coastal waters as well as gastrointestinal parasites.
Such quantities will certainly not be kept away from the wall in the Mediterranean between Gaza and Israel in the long term. Israel is planning to expand the seawater desalination plant in Ashkelon to produce twice as much water in it as it does now. So the screens must not clog up. Israel is also hoping to attract tourists again after the war - whether the beaches north of Gaza will be rubbish-free and the water suitable for swimming is not clear. However, it is clear that the ecosystem on the coast off Gaza has been dealt a death blow in recent months.
Not so long ago, the UN had begun to make the Wadi Gaza a nature reserve and recreational area; now the ecosystem is ruined and the opportunity is gone.
In May, the Israeli government announced that more oil tankers are to land in Eilat, presumably to import more fuel for military vehicles and airplanes. This will damage the marine ecosystem in the Red Sea, a snorkeling and diving paradise for tourists who have been able to admire the coral world there until now.
Impact of the War on the Air
The greatest silence being maintained is about the environmental damage caused via air. While contamination of soil and water by the wall around Gaza has not yet spread to the soil and water north and east of the Gaza Strip, i.e. to Israel, smoke, with it all the dangerous particles released, can travel over the wall and settle on soil, plants, animals and people in Israel and elsewhere, far and near. The evacuees from southern Israel have not yet returned. National and international volunteers have helped out in kibbutz agriculture to bring in the harvest - but are the vegetables or milk from there still edible and free of harmful substances? This has apparently not yet been tested or publicized.
At best, it could be concluded from analyses of the Ukraine war that it should be investigated. A study by the Leibniz Institute in Leipzig in cooperation with a university in Shanghai shows that after two major Russian attacks on Ukraine at the beginning of the war in February 2022, the air quality index (AQI), i.e. the proportion of harmful pollutants, was increased by an average of ten per cent, and not just in the immediate vicinity of the attack. The harmful particles are very light, so they can rise high into the air and be carried away and just as easily sink again and settle on the ground, plants and animals, or get onto people's skin or into their eyes or nose. In cities in Western Europe, a few days after the two attacks investigated, the AQI was dangerously above the levels considered healthy by the World Health Organization (WHO). - We know from Chernobyl that a few thousand kilometers is no obstacle for pollutants.
The pollutants include asbestos, heavy metals, radioactive substances and many others. New bombs constantly pulverize the components, mix them up, redistribute them and create new chemical compounds. No data has been collected over all the months of the war, so it is not possible to make any reliable statements about the composition of particles. Only 9/11 was documented as a single event from the beginning. From this and from studies after other wars, analogous conclusions can be drawn for Gaza about long-term effects on human health. Women, especially pregnant and breastfeeding women, have more sensitive reactions and can pass on sensitivities, allergies and illnesses to their babies. Babies can be born with deformities. Genetic changes cannot be ruled out. We know from Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Vietnam War that diseases can be passed down through generations.
The pollutants act like pesticides on plants. It can be assumed that both cultivated plants and natural plant cover have been wiped out in Gaza. As far as the animal world is concerned, it can be assumed that biodiversity and native wild animals no longer exist, but that rats, for example, are reproducing.
The Palestinian people in Gaza live in smoke from explosions and fires every day, as do the Israeli soldiers on the ground. Pollutants know no national borders, so the massive war effort in Gaza also threatens the health of Israelis and other people in the region.
A group of scientists published a cautious estimate of CO2 emissions for the first 60 days in early 2024 and then an updated estimate for the first 120 days in mid-2024. They distinguish between immediate emissions from the first two months of the war, medium-term emissions from security-related structures (tunnels, wall) and long-term carbon costs during reconstruction.
The call for the end of the war is associated with the hope that people will be able to return to a normal life as quickly as possible. Hardly anyone realizes that any further destruction, even after the war, will result in CO2 emissions and thus progressive global warming. 156,000 to 200,000 buildings would have to be rebuilt, which would cost between 46.8 million and 60 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
For the first 120 days from October 2023 to February 2024 alone, 45,000 bombs were dropped, weighing between 150 and 1,000 kg, 100,000 artillery shells (800 tonnes of steel and explosives). The most commonly used bomb by the Israeli army is the MK-82, which contains 90 kg of TNT and 140 kg of metal and other materials. Assuming this average bomb size, this results in between 70,165 and 86,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. If we exclude all activities associated with the current war (transport and reconnaissance flights, tanks and other military vehicles, electricity, fuel, energy consumption of humanitarian aid deliveries), the CO2 emissions amount to between 420,265 and 652,552 tonnes. For example, 244 cargo flights from the USA to Israel with 10,000 tonnes of deliveries are calculated with an average of 159,107 tonnes of CO2. At the beginning of the war, the USA delivered 5,000 MK-85 bombs, i.e. bombs weighing 1,000kg. Hamas' 9,500 Qassam rockets account for between 713 and 1,140 tonnes of CO2.
The establishment of military security measures before the war also came at the expense of the climate: 500 km of Hamas tunnels, with walls 10-20 cm thick, 2 m high and 1 m wide, cost between 174,600 and 478,800 tonnes of CO2. Israel's "Iron Wall", 65 km long, 6 m high, if it reaches only 3 m into the ground, 274,232 to 312,387 tonnes of CO2.
In comparison to these war-related figures: Germany states 674,000,000 tonnes of CO2 for the year 2023. In 2022, net territorial greenhouse gas emissions in the UK were estimated to be 406.2 million tonnes carbon dioxide.
Conclusion
Measured against the requirement of international law to protect the environment, it is fair to say that this is by no means being met, even before October 7, due to the occupation (since 1967) and blockade (since 2006).
Whether what is currently happening deserves to be called "ecocide" is a matter for debate.
I allow myself to judge that the Israeli government has not yet achieved its goal of wiping out Hamas in order to guarantee the existence of the state of Israel and the security of the Israeli people after more than half a year. However, it has caused immeasurable damage to the Palestinian civilian population. It has destroyed the living space for survivors of this war. It has caused permanent damage to the soil, water, atmosphere and sea that can hardly be repaired in the foreseeable future. The destruction does not stop at the borders, Israeli citizens and the ecosystem within Israeli borders will also feel the consequences; the environment and people in other neighboring countries will also suffer. Last but not least, it has fueled global warming through CO2 emissions at a time when the earth should actually be saved by reducing any activity that adds to CO2 emissions.
It is now known that the military is responsible for 5.5% of all CO2 emissions in the world, not including current armed conflicts. In comparison, civil aviation accounts for 2%. The Paris climate agreements do not include any obligation for countries to report their military emissions to the UN; only four countries do so voluntarily and there is no guarantee that they will provide full information. In order to stop global warming, this information should be mandatory. Wars must be replaced by other conflict solutions and disarmament is urgently needed.
UNEP has been asked by the Palestinian government to analyze the environmental consequences of the Gaza war. Although the study has not yet been finalized, UNEP has come to the same conclusion for Gaza as it did for a preliminary study in Ukraine:
Immediate cessation of all acts of war!
Helga Merkelbach was born 71 years ago in a rural German village, where she grew up with a passion for exploring the world and embracing diverse cultures. After attending university and becoming a teacher, here travels took me to Wales, England, Ethiopia, and Brazil, although I primarily resided in Bremen, Germany.
Helga was actively involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement, worked on preventing sexual abuse of girls, and for over a decade. She has spent more than six months in Palestine and Israel, where she supported individuals living under occupation and built lasting friendships with peace activists and Palestinian women in isolated villages.
[This article was originally published in Pressenza in Helga’s native German language: https://www.pressenza.com/de/2024/06/vergessene-opfer-im-gazakrieg-umwelt-und-klima/]
Sources:
The demand "Ceasefire Now!" because of the environmental and climate threat is embedded in a context of the think tank on climate policy:
https://www.climateandcommunity.org/ceasefire-now
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
UNEP presentation on Ukraine, 14 October 2022: https://www.unep.org/resources/report/environmental-impact-conflict-ukraine-preliminary-review
UNEP on the environmental situation in the occupied Palestinian territories 2020 https://www.unep.org/resources/report/state-environment-and-outlook-report-occupied-palestinian-territory-2020
UNEP, first impressions on Gaza, 6 March 2024 https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/03/06/the-un-is-investigating-the-environmental-impact-of-the-war-in-gaza-heres-what-it-says-so-
Media referring to UN
5 DEC. 2023 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/5/is-israels-war-on-gaza-also-hurting-the-climate
Forensic Architecture, analysis of satellite images on land degradation / agriculture 29/03/2024 https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/ecocide-in-gaza
Dr Saeed Bagheri on international law https://verfassungsblog.de/israel-war-gaza-ecocide-environment/
Scientific calculations on CO2 emissions (the first 60 days of the war) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4684768
Updated data (the first 120 days) https://www.qmul.ac.uk/busman/media/sbm/documents/Gaza_Carbon_Emissions.pdf
Wikipedia constantly publishes up-to-date and informative references to resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_damage_caused_by_the_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war
A great article and so helpful. It’s terrifying to see these consequences spelled out so clearly. Thank you. More people need to see this information. Obviously, the MSM aren’t going to be talking about this. I was particularly disappointed by the fact that military contributions aren’t counted in the country totals. Not really surprising, but still so disappointing and frustrating. Not that it would make any difference. We (US) are perfectly comfortable with breaking international law and treaties. Again, thank you for this excellent article. CODEPINK lands another one!
Thank You CODEPINK