Israel dropped over 85,000 tons of bombs on Gaza

Israel’s military has dropped over 85,000 tonnes of bombs on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, exceeding the amount of explosives used in World War II, the Environmental Quality Authority reported yesterday.

In a statement issued to mark the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, the Palestinian Authority-affiliated agency noted that the continuous bombardment has devastated vast agricultural lands and contaminated the soil with toxic chemicals, which will impede farming for decades.

Israeli occupation forces have employed a range of weapons and munitions, most notably white phosphorus, which is prohibited under international law by the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. These attacks have severely damaged environmental components, posing a grave threat to the health of humans and wildlife.

It also indicated that damage to water infrastructure has resulted in polluted water leaking into groundwater reservoirs, foreshadowing a health and environmental catastrophe that threatens to endanger residents for generations to come.

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