Gaza’s Streets and Markets Have Become Dumping Grounds for Medical Waste

Just a few hundred meters from Al-Ma’madani Hospital in the center of Gaza City lies Firas Market, which has turned into a site for heaps of mixed garbage as medical waste accumulates alongside household trash, commercial trash, and rubble remnants.

The piles stretch across the market and between buildings, suffocating the city with choking odors and rising dust, right next to passersby and vendors at work. With rising summer temperatures, these heaps turn into hotspots for methane and ammonia gas emissions, worsening air quality and impacting the small, besieged city’s climate.

Cars pass alongside the piles, and children navigate through them searching for reusable scraps, while silent anxiety seeps into Gaza’s pollution-laden air. The situation reflects not only a sanitation crisis but also a breakdown in the urban safety systems that once regulated waste disposal and protected public health.

Before the current war, Gaza’s waste management system faced significant challenges, but waste collection vehicles were nevertheless operating across Gaza’s municipalities, and waste was transported to main landfill sites. Even though Gaza struggled to consistently meet international standards for sanitation, there were still basic procedures in place for managing medical waste through health authorities and relevant institutions. The war has severely disrupted all of these systems.

Yousef Al-Qudra, who holds a leadership position concerning solid waste management in Gaza, tells me that the council has operated with almost no resources since the war began. He adds that all facilities and equipment were destroyed, completely halting sorting, transport, and treatment.

The continuous exposure to mixed waste has begun to reshape daily life in the area. Residents report difficulty breathing, increased insect activity, and a growing fear of contamination. Firas Market used to be a commercial hub and has gradually transformed into an informal dumping ground.

On a street corner, sanitation worker Omar Al-Sharif pulls his metal cart filled with bags labeled “medical waste.” He says tiredly: “This waste isn’t ordinary; it contains needles, blood tubes, and surgical bags. We collect it every day amid the crowd, and no one provides us with protective gear. Just one prick could kill us.”

His statement reflects a wider systemic failure in occupational safety. Workers handling hazardous materials are often exposed without gloves, masks, or proper containment tools, increasing the risk of infection and long-term health complications. Medical waste, which should be strictly controlled, is now part of daily street collection routines.

Inside a nearby hospital, a hospital cleaning worker, Rana Abu Salim, stands before a corridor filled with trash bags, pointing to the warning symbols on them: “Before the war, we carefully sorted medical waste, each type in its own container. Today, we put it all in one bag because the containers disappeared and equipment was destroyed. This is dangerous for patients, workers, and the public outside as well.”

Her testimony highlights the collapse of hospital waste management protocols. Under World Health Organization guidelines, medical waste is classified into several main categories — including infectious waste, sharps, pharmaceutical waste, nonhazardous or general waste, and more — each requiring specific handling procedures. The loss of this system increases the probability of cross-contamination and hospital-acquired infections.

A few meters away, at a market near the hospital, vegetable vendor Khaled Al-Hassan lays out his goods on a small wooden table, holding a damp tissue to his nose to reduce the smell. “Every day, new bags are dumped in front of the market and rot quickly. Customers flee, and we live in unbearable odors. At night, trucks come and unload waste here as if it’s an official dump,” Al-Hassan tells me.

Economic consequences are now visible: Vendors report reduced sales, declining customer flow, and loss of livelihood. The degradation has directly affected informal markets that depend on daily foot traffic.

Next to him, taxi driver Fadi Abu Saleh stands by his car stuck in traffic, pointing at the bags in the middle of the road: “People walk over them, cars run them over. If just one contaminated bag bursts, the danger spreads to everyone,” he tells me. “This is in the middle of the market, in plain sight, not isolated.”

Transportation routes are also affected. Roads partially blocked by waste slow down emergency services, increase accident risks, and expose commuters to biological hazards.

Here, we see another face of the war. With medical waste treatment systems halted and equipment destroyed, the Gaza Strip has become an open environment for pollution and epidemics, amid the absence of sustainable solutions or safe disposal mechanisms.

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Samir Al-Batran, an official with the department monitoring wastewater and medical waste at Gaza’s Ministry of Health, tells me that what is happening can only be described as simultaneous administrative and environmental collapse. He acknowledges the ministry bears responsibility for part of the current shortfall in monitoring but links it to comprehensive destruction and Israel’s ongoing siege.

Before the war began in 2023, there was an integrated system for medical waste disposal, starting with sorting within health institutions, moving on to storage and transportation, and ending with microwave devices that neutralized pollutants. Today, all of this has collapsed; there are no tools, resources, or oversight capacity.

“We know the risks, and we realize that dumping waste in random pits isn’t a solution, but it’s the only option left in the absence of alternatives or international support,” the official at Gaza’s Ministry of Health adds.

Experts warn that the lack of controlled disposal leads to long-term soil contamination. Toxic liquids from decomposing waste seep into underground layers, threatening agricultural land and groundwater resources on which Gaza heavily depends.

Hala Al-Masri, a displaced woman from Gaza City now living in Khan Younis, points to a pile of waste near her tent: “The smell is unbearable, and insects are everywhere,” she tells me. “My children suffered rashes and infections; the doctor said it’s due to polluted air and water. We live meters away from a dump.”

Such testimonies show the direct health consequences on displaced families. Skin diseases, respiratory issues, and gastrointestinal infections are increasingly reported in overcrowded displacement zones.

Human rights researchers argue that the environmental crisis is no longer just a technical issue but a violation of fundamental rights. The destruction of sanitation infrastructure undermines the right to health, dignity, and a safe environment under international humanitarian law.

Hamed Al-Sayed, 30, one of the residents affected by the deterioration of sanitation and waste management services, tells me: “The problem is no longer only the presence of waste or sewage. We are now living among these conditions without clear solutions. The smells, insects, and accumulation of waste have become part of our daily lives.”

He added: “Before, there were services responsible for collecting waste and trying to manage the problem. Now, the situation is different. Many services have stopped or become extremely limited, leaving people more exposed to health risks.”

Hamed told me these conditions have particularly affected children and displaced families: “Children are among the most affected because they move and play in the same areas where waste and contaminated water are present. We are afraid of diseases, but we do not have many options.”

His testimony shows how the collapse of waste management and sanitation services has transformed from a public service problem into a crisis affecting people’s basic rights, including the right to health, a safe environment, and human dignity.

In Deir al-Balah, a third temporary dump was established in the Al-Baraka area, where medical waste from nearby health centers and hospitals mixes with household trash.

Human rights and environmental activist Bilal Abu Zaid emphasizes that accumulating medical waste near residential areas threatens the right to health, environment, and life.

He warns that toxic gases and harmful liquids seep into soil and groundwater, causing long-term ecological damage. Environmental degradation is no longer localized; it is spreading across densely populated zones.

“Medical waste accumulating near residential areas is not only an environmental problem; it is a direct threat to people’s fundamental rights, including the right to health and to live in a safe environment,” Abu Zaid told me. “When medical waste is mixed with regular waste and authorities lose the ability to manage it safely, the risks do not remain limited to disposal sites. They extend to communities through pollution and the spread of diseases.”

Abu Zaid warned of the long-term consequences, saying: “The environmental damage caused by these conditions could continue for years, because the contamination of soil and groundwater affects ecosystems and the health of future generations.”

Moreover, decomposing medical and organic wastes release greenhouse gases, contributing to localized warming and the worsening heat wave conditions already being experienced in vulnerable urban areas.

In Gaza, war is not just a humanitarian tragedy; it is a complex environmental and climatic crisis. The accumulation of untreated waste symbolizes a deeper collapse of infrastructure, governance, and environmental protection systems.

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