MIDDLE EAST (Enmaeya News) - December 6, 2025

The Gaza Municipality issued a warning on Friday that the city’s waste management system is on the brink of a near-total shutdown within hours due to a complete depletion of fuel needed to operate garbage collection vehicles and sanitation equipment.

In a statement, the municipality said the acute fuel shortage has already begun to severely impede solid waste removal services, with several collection trucks expected to stop operating starting Saturday.

The halt is projected to interrupt garbage collection across multiple neighborhoods, compounding a rapidly escalating public health emergency.

According to the municipality, more than 350,000 cubic meters of waste have accumulated in streets and temporary dumping areas. Sanitation crews also remain unable to access Gaza’s primary landfill in the Juhr al-Dik area east of the city, further limiting disposal options.

Officials warned that the mounting waste poses serious health and environmental risks, creating conditions conducive to the spread of infectious diseases and the proliferation of rodents, insects, and other vectors.

The municipality said the threat is particularly acute for children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

The statement cautioned that without immediate access to fuel and the main landfill, the sanitation sector could face a complete operational collapse. Such a development, it said, would deepen the already difficult humanitarian situation and intensify daily health hazards for Gaza’s residents.

The municipality urged the international community, humanitarian agencies, and relevant organizations to intervene urgently by securing fuel supplies and reopening access to the landfill.

It stressed that swift action is required to prevent the crisis from escalating into what it described as an uncontrollable environmental and health disaster.