DaysofPal – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has confirmed that approximately 1,500 metric tons of spoiled goods already inside Gaza have been isolated in designated warehouses to prevent the spread of contamination.
OCHA said that the situation is a severe logistical challenge across the Gaza Strip. The isolation of the damaged supplies was carried out to prevent a double health disaster that could result from the contamination of remaining usable food stocks.
Gaza is facing a sharp crisis in the deterioration of food aid due to the blockade, placing thousands of lives at risk. Tens of thousands of people are experiencing food insecurity.
Aid shipments have deteriorated after remaining for extended periods at crossings, being stored improperly, or spoiling due to humidity and high temperatures before reaching distribution points. Hundreds of tons of supplies have been lost as a result.
The office also reported that community kitchens are struggling with limited electricity supplies and a shortage of refrigeration equipment, which increases the risk of spoilage of perishable foods. To reduce health and protection risks linked to damaged goods, Food Security Sector (FSS) partners are examining options for the safe disposal of spoiled food outside populated areas, in coordination with Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) partners and solid waste management teams.
Identifying additional disposal sites remains difficult. Three out of ten temporary landfill sites currently receiving waste have already reached full capacity. Three more sites are expected to reach their limits in the coming months. The two main landfills located east of the so-called “Yellow Line” remain inaccessible.
A team from multiple United Nations agencies started removing Gaza City’s biggest landfill and moving waste to a temporary disposal location last Wednesday.
Amjad Al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, told Al Jazeera Mubasher that approximately 370,000 metric tons of waste will be moved to a temporary site until it can be transported to the main landfill in the Juhr Al-Dik area, east of Gaza City, which is under Israeli control.
Al-Shawa expressed hope that the program will continue until waste is removed from all areas of the Gaza Strip, which he estimated at around 900,000 metric tons in total.
The mayor of Gaza City, Yahya Al-Sarraj, said that Israeli officials had previously blocked the removal and transportation of waste to the landfill outside the city, allowing it to build up and resulting in major environmental and health catastrophes for the local population.
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