Israel's Violence against Health, Food, and Climate

ISREAL'S VIOLENCE AGAINST GAZA'S HEATHCARE

Israel has effectively targeted and destroyed Gaza’s healthcare system. According to CNN “Satellite imagery showed craters near 11 of the hospitals were consistent with those left behind by 2,000-pound bombs. The munitions were dropped near enough for the hospitals to be within the lethal fragmentation radius, which is up to 365 meters (about 1,198 feet).” 

“Fourteen hospitals were directly hit. Several, including Al-Shifa and Al-Quds, appeared to have been attacked by Israel.”. Israeli forces routinely raid hospitals on deadly and violent ground operations. The aftermath of some of Israel’s horrific assaults on civilians and medical personnel in hospitals were unearthed recently. Mass graves of hundreds of individuals were unearthed. Many blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. Other bodies, hands tied up, and crushed by IDF militant vehicles.

According to CNN, in Khan Younis, after IDF’s withdrawal, families returned to find bodies of their loved ones, dug out of graves by the IDF, and some bodies even removed and missing. Many bodies were exhumed by the IDF and discarded in a mass grave. The CNN has reached out to IDF for comments, and received no response.

A UN inspection team on the 10th of April, reported Khan Younis was reduced to rubble. Returnees found mass graves containing the bodies of the elderly, women, children, and men at Al Nassar hospital. Many bodies were found clothed in blue scrubs.

324 decomposing bodies were discovered. Some with their hands tied back, and stripped naked. 

Another two mass graves were discovered in Al- Shifa hospital, with only 30 bodies identifiable. Many of the bodies showed signs of torture, and summary executions. 50 Beheaded bodies were also found in mass graves at Al - Shifa after the IDF withdrawal.  

Israel has transformed hospitals in Gaza - centers for healing, into mass graves, full of decomposing Palestinian men, women, and children bodies.

RISE OF PREVENTABLE DISEASES

Israel has effectively targeted and destroyed Gaza’s healthcare system. This leaves +2 million Gazans with zero 0 adequately functioning hospitals, and less than 6 remaining ambulances. Israel’s relentless bombardment has left Gaza without electricity, or water.

According to UNICEF, there is one toilet per 700 people, and one shower unit per every 2,000 people. People in Gaza now die from a brutal combination of starvation and disease, most acutely among children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and older people. This is entirely preventable, and intentional.

Gaza is facing “catastrophic levels of food insecurity,” with the risk of famine “increasing each day.” according to the WHO. An unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is starving. At least 1 in 4 households are facing “catastrophic conditions”. WHO staff say that every single person they spoke to in Gaza is hungry, and the people are desperate. Forced starvation, lack of sanitation, and zero functioning health facilities has created soaring rates of infectious diseases. 

+150 000 cases of upper respiratory infection, and numerous cases of meningitis, skin rashes, scabies, lice and chickenpox have been reported. Hepatitis is also suspected as many people present with the tell-tale signs of jaundice. Israeli protestors block the entrance of aid trucks that bring medical and basic life saving supplies, while IDF target and bomb aid trucks, leaving thousands of Palestinians to die from curable illnesses, and preventable starvation.

GAZAS FORCED FAMINE

Israel has completely shut down Gaza's water supply and electricity since October 7th. Israel has intentionally targeted bombs all over civilian infrastructures including bakeries and food markets, leaving the population in desperate need for food and water. Israel has also forbade humanitarian aid, and upon global outcry for Palestinian justice, Israel allowed only a a few trucks, which experts and humanitarian aid workers warned were not nearly enough. Israeli citizens also actively block the entry of aid trucks forcing over 2 million people to face starvation. ActionAid International stated “We remain extremely alarmed about the acute hunger crisis in Gaza as the amount of aid entering the territory and reaching those in need continues to be wholly inadequate".

Oxfam International says that Gaza faces catastrophic levels of hunger, which have doubled since December 2023, and children are dying due to starvation and malnutrition. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, about 1.11 million people face catastrophic food insecurity "this is the highest ever recorded number of people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), both in terms of percent of the population and total number of people". 

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

Israel has a history of illegally dumping chemical waste in Palestine. Israel has been dumping nuclear waste in the West Bank. in 2006 an environmental group published a report revealing the improper disposal of solid waste has allowed toxic materials such as chloride, arsenic.... to seep into ground water. In additional to Israel's environmentally harmful practices, Israeli settlers have uprooted over 800,000 olive trees in Palestine. It takes about 15 years for an olive tree to reach its full length. Israelis have destroyed more than 800,000 trees, which means it would take 12,000,000 years to grow back each burnt down olive tree to full height again. Palestinians, being native to the land, defend these trees with their lives and bodies. 

Israel has been burying nuclear chemical and solid waste in the West Bank. These are the main causes of environmental and health crisis's for Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. 

Speaking at a climate change conference in the city of Ramallah, the Palestinian premier also warned that the presence of an Israeli nuclear reactor in the Negev Dessert and the burial of its radioactive waste, has increased cancer rates in the nearby city of Hebron.

Cancer rates in the areas south of Hebron are the highest in Palestine. Israel continues to have an an ambiguous policy about its nuclear weapons, is estimated to have between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads, and refused to allow inspections of it's nuclear facilities or sign the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty.

The Palestinian Return Center (PRC) submitted a written statement to the UN Human Rights Council titled Israel's disposal of Lethal Waste, warning about Israel's Dimona Nuclear Reactor may be the cause of serious health consequences for nearby Palestinians populations, including increase of illnesses and still births, and increased in deformity, and cancers.

Israel prevents environmental inspectors from visiting areas which residents complain are being used as nuclear dumping grounds by Israel. Additionally Israel does not allow for the import of equipment that could be used to measure radiation, as well as preventing international an UN experts from entering the Palestinian territories. 

in the past decade, Israeli production facilities and companies have moved their sites into the West Bank to evade environmental codes on waste disposal, in particular hazardous waste. About 60% of Israel's waste ends up in the Occupied West Bank. Experts stress that Israel's violent and irresponsible waste management puts "the life of Palestinians at stake, as well as damaging the soil and poisoning the groundwater" Middle East Monitor. According to the Middle East Monitor "this is in addition to the scores of landfill sites which are used by the illegal settlements but have not been officially recognized or allocated.". These are grave human rights violations, and violations of international laws related to environment protection.

CLIMATE IMPACT

Israel's war on Gaza and Palestinian civilians has significantly increased, water, air, and soil pollution. Experts say that Israel has contaminated the groundwater, the sky and the sea in Gaza, for many years, even generations. According to a British-American study, the greenhouse gas emissions generated during the first 60 days of Israel's war on Gaza's civilians, generated 281,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is greater than the annual carbon footprint of over 20 of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, calling the war on Gaza, a Catastrophe for Humanity. The UN further stated that Israeli bombardments have created 37 million tons of debris

More than 99 percent of the emissions generated by the conflict are attributable to airstrikes and the Israeli military's ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, according to the researchers. In two months, the IDF emitted into the atmosphere an amount of CO2 equivalent to that generated by the combustion of 150,000 tons of coal. According to the researchers, these initial results could be just a "glimpse" of the actual environmental footprint of this war. Much of the Palestinian enclave's farmland and energy and water infrastructure has been destroyed by Israel. Many toxic substances have also been disseminated in the environment and risk polluting the territory in the long term, Benjamin Neimark, one of the authors, points out in the columns of the Guardian.