United Nations raises alert on health hazards from accumulated waste in Gaza Strip.
The longer Gaza's conflict continues, the bigger the mountains of garbage become in this narrow coastal area. The UN Palestinian Relief Agency, UNRWA, reports that garbage piles are building up on numerous streets in the region. They say, "No matter where you look, you see a pile of garbage."
As of Thursday night, the UN emergency aid office, OCHA, stated that approximately one million people had fled from Rafah under dreadful sanitary conditions. Sadly, this conflict, which has been running for almost eight months, has only made the living conditions in the Gaza Strip even worse for its 2.2 million inhabitants. Aid organizations claim that 1.7 million people had to leave their homes.
Before the war, trash disposal was already an issue in the Gaza Strip. With approximately 1700 tons of garbage being produced each day, there were only two central landfills available. The current Israeli attacks and the ongoing war in Gaza have made this problem even more serious.
UNRWA cautions of severe health repercussions for the population in Gaza because of the garbage crisis. There's also a risk of soil and groundwater contamination. Additionally, rising temperatures in the region might aggravate the matter even further.
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