GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian authorities warned of a health and environmental crisis in Gaza City on Monday as mountains of garbage were piling up amid Israeli restrictions.

"Gaza City is facing a major health and environmental disaster due to the accumulation of about 170,000 tons of garbage in the streets and temporary landfills,” Gaza Municipality said in a statement.

It accused Israel of preventing municipal teams from reaching the main landfill east of the city following the destruction of 80% of the municipality’s machinery in Israeli bombardment.

The municipal authority explained that waste was being transferred by its teams from streets and residential areas to temporary landfills inside the city.

The Gaza Strip has been reduced to a wasteland of wrecked buildings and piles of rubble by Israel’s brutal offensive that has killed more than 48,300 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

The Israeli war was brought to a halt under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in Gaza on Jan. 19.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar