Since the attack on October 7^th, 2023, Israel has led a decisive military response in Gaza with the professed goal of eradicating Hamas. Gaza, with its already delicate environment, has suffered immense short-term environmental damage that will likely create significant long-term issues. According to the Guardian, many researchers and N.G.O.s are calling for Israel to be investigated for the potential war crime of “ecocide,” or the extensive short and long-term ecological damage inflicted on Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), addressing farmland damage specifically, told the Guardian in March that it “does not intentionally harm agricultural land and seeks to prevent environmental impact absent operational necessity.”

Despite other assurances from the IDF that it is adhering to international law, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant announced on October 9^th  that there would be “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel,” entering Gaza from Israel — a direct attack on civilian access to necessary resources. According to U.N.I.C.E.F, two weeks into the war, Gaza had just five percent of its regular water supply due to the blockade and bombings. U.N.I.C.E.F. also reported in November 2023 that the Gaza Strip power plant shut down due to fuel shortage. This, along with the lack of electricity, led to a drastic decrease in capacity for Gaza’s desalination plants, which provide water to tens of thousands of people in Gaza. The enclave has endured environmental damage and difficulties in several military operations preceding the war. In 2014, Israel’s Operation Protective Edge damaged 250,000 fruit-bearing trees, according to the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated $33 million of damage was inflicted on Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. After the 2014 conflict, the IDF confirmed that it sprayed pesticides along Gaza’s border, further shrinking the area of its already scarce farmland. In the current conflict, warnings from humanitarian organizations have largely been unaddressed, and outside aid has been notoriously difficult to deliver throughout the last nine months. The Geneva Conventions forbid warfare strategies that cause “widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.”

Israel has made little effort to mitigate environmental damage in Gaza and actively prevents resources such as water, food, electricity, and fuel from entering the enclave. The killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in April by an Israeli airstrike, among many other aid worker deaths, demonstrates that Israel has not been successful in providing safe passage for humanitarian organizations within Gaza. Impeding civilian aid is a direct violation of International Humanitarian Law and could be investigated as a war crime. Gaza is certainly a small area, which makes targeting Hamas alone difficult, however, the Israeli objective of the complete eradication of Hamas has given hardline officials such as Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir a license to trigger heavy civilian and environmental costs. Farmland and water supply have been significantly affected, among other resource sectors, due to the strategy of the IDF. According to the research group Forensic Architecture, around 40 percent of food-producing land in Gaza has been destroyed by Israel’s operations as of March. Forensic Architecture also reported that greenhouses have been targeted and often replaced with military structures. Early in the war, the heavy ground invasion destroyed 90% of greenhouses in the north. A preliminary report released by the UNEP last month warns of the continued contamination of Gaza’s groundwater supply due to debris, emissions, and the presence of dangerous metals and chemicals. The tunnels constructed by Hamas are concerning because of the initial construction process, their flooding by Israel, and their destruction, all of which have contributed to groundwater contamination. Groundwater provides Gaza with over 75 percent of its entire water supply. According to UNICEF, the average person in Gaza has access to two or fewer litres of water per day for drinking, hygiene, and cooking, which is significantly below the humanitarian standard of 15 litres during an emergency.

Israel’s current military strategy has decimated Gaza’s natural resources and infrastructure, particularly its water supply and food production abilities. There has been little to no opportunity to recover or provide aid while Israeli bombardment continues. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the temporary truce last November allowed UN agencies to fuel Gaza’s primary water utility, however, this only improved access and sanitation in the south. At the very least, regular temporary ceasefires are necessary to allow aid to enter and to make repairs to vital infrastructure, and Israel must refrain from utilizing tactics that reduce access to resources in Gaza. It is, however, in Israel’s best interests both strategically and politically to come to a permanent ceasefire agreement. The current military operations undermine the state’s credibility both domestically and internationally. Many Israelis are growing increasingly critical of Netanyahu’s response to Hamas’ October 7^th attack, particularly because of the apparent lack of urgency in returning the hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas. On the world stage, Israel has become increasingly isolated as more countries continue to criticize the humanitarian crisis, possible war crimes, and significant civilian death toll inflicted by Israel. The UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire nearly unanimously, with Russia abstaining. Particularly across the Middle East, Israel’s heavy bombardment and environmental destruction of Gaza will continue to make enemies and is not a practical solution for lasting peace in the region. Israel has not historically sought significant regional integration in the Middle East, but a ceasefire and softening of diplomatic relations between Israel and its geographic neighbours will be essential for stability beyond the war. The damage inflicted by Israel on Gaza has and will continue to be difficult to talk through in attempted peace agreements, however, continued violence and the targeting of natural resources will only increase tensions and lead to more catastrophic conflicts in the future. See the Crisis Index for the Israel-Palestine conflict here.