UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM HELPS TACKLE WASTE CRISIS IN GAZA

Quick Overview

The Gaza Municipality began moving 350,000 square meters of waste from the temporary Feras market dump to a designated temporary landfill east of the city, in cooperation with the UNDP, to mitigate the severe health and environmental crisis caused by the accumulating waste, which Israel continues to block access to the main landfill.

Key Points: The Gaza Municipality started moving 350,000 square meters (equivalent to 65 football fields) of waste from the temporary Feras market dump on February 13, 2026. The operation is being implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), supported by Germany, to address the environmental and health crisis. The waste removal aims to mitigate the spread of harmful infectious diseases, insects, and odors caused by the accumulation of waste inside the Gaza Strip. The transferred waste is being moved to a designated temporary landfill located east of the city, covering an area of approximately 18,000 square meters. The municipality appealed to international organizations to pressure Israel to allow access to the main Jre'a Deek landfill east of Gaza City, which is equipped for waste collection. The daily accumulation of waste is approximately 1,600 cubic meters, or 18 dunams (18,000 square meters) of waste per day.

Context: The video documents a significant effort by the Gaza Municipality, in partnership with the UNDP and German support, to manage an overwhelming waste crisis. This crisis is exacerbated by the fact that the primary landfill in the Jre'a Deek area east of Gaza City remains inaccessible due to Israeli blockades, forcing the temporary relocation of waste from crowded areas like the Feras market into temporary sites, which in turn creates new health and environmental hazards.

Detailed Analysis

The Gaza Municipality initiated a major operation on February 13, 2026, to move 350,000 square meters of waste, equating to 65 football fields, from the temporary Feras market dump site. This effort is being executed in coordination with the UNDP, which is receiving support from Germany, as indicated by the logos on the UNDP truck (00:31). The primary goal of this relocation is to mitigate the severe health and environmental disaster caused by the massive accumulation of trash, which is spreading harmful infectious diseases, insects, and noxious odors within the Gaza Strip (1:58, 3:26). The waste is being transferred to a designated temporary landfill east of Gaza City, which is equipped to handle waste collection (3:51). This temporary measure covers an area of roughly 18,000 square meters, equivalent to 18 dunams, which is where the waste from the Feras market is being moved (2:06, 2:50). The municipality stated that the daily accumulation of waste is approximately 1,600 cubic meters, highlighting the ongoing severity of the problem (3:05). Furthermore, the municipality appealed to international organizations to pressure Israel to grant access to the main Jre'a Deek landfill located east of the city, which is the properly equipped facility needed for long-term management (3:46). Visuals throughout the video show towering piles of refuse, heavy machinery like bulldozers and dump trucks (00:05, 00:31, 01:54), and residents, including children, navigating the hazardous conditions near the waste (00:14, 01:20).