Gaza Municipality begins transporting 300 000 cubic meters of waste from the city center

On Wednesday, the Gaza Municipality began an operation to transfer more than 300,000 cubic meters of accumulated solid waste from the city center to a temporary site in the south, in an effort to mitigate the health and environmental consequences of its accumulation.

Gaza Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj stated that his municipality, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),commenced the transfer of solid waste from the site of the historic Firas Market in the city center to a temporary location in the Abu Jarad area in the south.

He emphasized that this operation aims to address the escalating environmental and health crisis in the city.

Al-Sarraj explained that the accumulation of waste in the heart of the city resulted from municipal crews being prevented from accessing the main landfill east of the city since the outbreak of the genocidal war on October 8, 2013, forcing them to collect the waste at a temporary site within a residential and commercial area.

He noted that the relocation process represents a significant step towards addressing an environmental and health crisis that has persisted for months.

The mayor of Gaza City stated that the process of relocating the waste to a site further away from residential areas could take four to six months if the work proceeds smoothly.

He pointed out that the previous accumulation of waste had caused health and environmental damage, including foul odors, smoke, and insect infestations, in addition to increasing complaints from residents.

The waste is piling up amidst residential and commercial areas and the tents of displaced people in the heart of Gaza City.

Thousands of Palestinians are living in displacement camps and temporary tents in the Gaza Strip after their homes were destroyed by Israeli bombing during the 2005 war. They face a severe shortage of