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Gaza faces high risk of epidemics due to environmental problems — TV

According to the mayor of the city of Khan Yunis in the enclave’s south, Israeli attacks across Gaza have wiped out much of its vegetation and made it difficult to access landfills for proper waste disposal

CAIRO, November 13. /TASS/. The Gaza Strip is facing a high risk of epidemics due to environmental problems, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV channel reported, citing the mayor of the city of Khan Yunis in the enclave’s south.

"We are facing a real catastrophe that results in the spread of diseases and epidemics," he pointed out.

According to the official, Israeli attacks across Gaza have wiped out much of its vegetation and made it difficult to access landfills for proper waste disposal.

Alessandro Mrakic, head of the Gaza office of the United Nations Development Program, told Reuters on November 7 that there were about 2 million tons of untreated waste across Gaza. He added that the risks to the environment and the population's health were "immense."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages. On October 6, 2025, the delegations of Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas resumed indirect talks to resolve the situation in the Gaza Strip through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, the US and Turkey. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the first phase of a peace plan floated by US President Donald Trump. The Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10.