Palestinians collect warning leaflets dropped by an Israeli drone in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Monday, October 20, 2025. Jehad Alshrafi/AP

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Over two years of nearly incessant bombardment, Israeli forces have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, at least a third of whom are children. The human toll has been called genocide by human rights organizations around the world and by a UN commission, but a new report from an Israeli research center also points to environmental devastation: Gaza’s soil is polluted after the destruction of wastewater treatment plants, sewage contamination is widespread, and particulate matter left by exploded bombs is increasing rates of respiratory illness. 

According to a new report by the Arava Institute, an environmental research institute based in Israel, Gaza is covered with an........

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