Waste is piling up in Gaza, bringing misery and hazards
STORY: Abou Mohammed walks past a makeshift landfill, less than 500 feet from his home in central Gaza.
With the conflict between Israel and Hamas now in its seventh month, domestic waste has been piling up.
Some municipalities have been left with little choice but to find new dumping grounds like this.
Mohammed says the dump's proximity to his home has him worrying about the health of his family.
"This street was completely empty. We did not suffer like this before. The municipality used to be active, but after the war and the aggression that occurred - it ceased its operations. This waste here has brought diseases. Our children are suffering from various ailments that we have never seen before, such as skin pimples and rashes. Personally, I returned from the clinic just an hour ago. There were numerous cases, including my child who had a fever. The doctor said that it was the result of the pollution here."
Youssef Hammad is a municipality worker.
The area is not a designated dumping zone, he says, but there was little choice after road blockages stopped them from reaching the official landfill.
Hammad also warned of the environmental hazard it poses. It could attract insects and stray animals, he says, and could potentially contaminate the groundwater.
Aid agencies warned in February that the majority of people had no access to clean drinking water and that sanitation services were wholly ineffective, with none of Gaza's wastewater treatment systems working.
