Gazans fleeing Rafah say they now live in misery next to massive garbage dump
In Khan Younis, where Gaza's Al-Aqsa University once stood, thousands of families say they're being forced to live next to what has become a putrid tem‐ porary garbage dump.
Stretching 250 metres, the pile of garbage is longer than Seattle's Space Needle is high. Flies, cockroaches and other bugs are inescapable, as is the unbearable foul smell.
"The situation is inde‐ scribable," said Abdullah Tay‐ seer, 48, who moved to Khan Younis with his wife and three children after fighting forced them from their tem‐ porary refuge in Rafah.
"All day long, we live in misery."
UNRWA, the main United Nations agency in Gaza, esti‐ mated that as of Monday, more than 800,000 people had left Rafah since Israel be‐ gan targeting the city in early May.
Israel said earlier this week it intended to broaden its operations in Rafah de‐ spite U.S. warnings about the risk of mass casualties. Many Gazans fled the southern city and made their way back to Khan Younis, about nine kilo‐ metres to the north, hoping to set up shelter at the AlAqsa University campus - on‐ ly to find that it had been turned into one of the city's main garbage dumps.
WATCH | Gazans de‐ scribe living conditions next to garbage dump:
Desperate, tired and faced with limited options, thousands set up camp near the dump, where garbage trucks coming from other camps within city boundaries regularly unload their con‐ tents.
The landfill used to be in Sofa, a town east of Khan Younis, but the city - which is responsible for waste collec‐ tion - said it had to be moved to a more central area that would be easier to access as the war dragged on.
They chose the vacant university campus, where most of the buildings have been destroyed during the conflict. 'The centre of the dis‐ placed'
Mohamed Al-Farra, an envi‐ ronmental engineer with the city, said the university was chosen because it was the largest space available at the time and "the furthest place from people."
However, as more people continue to flood back into Khan Younis, the dump "is now the centre of the dis‐ placed," Al-Farra told CBC News.
He said the trash greatly affects the spread of disease and vermin.
"The displaced tell us that they've seen roaches that they've never seen in their lives."
Muhammad Abu Aser, 44, said he pitched his tent near the dump after he and his family were forced to leave Rafah because they couldn't find anywhere else to go.
"We are forced to stay near garbage," he told a free‐ lance videographer working with CBC News in Gaza. "We're just trying our best to live."
Health consequences
People can face a number of health problems if they live in areas without proper garbage disposal because trash can contaminate air, soil and water, according to the World Health Organiza‐ tion. Vulnerable groups like children are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes.
A 2021 study found health consequences for people liv‐ ing near landfills, incinerators or dumping sites in Europe, Asia, Africa and North Amer‐ ica included infectious dis‐ eases, respiratory conditions, cancer, birth defects and gas‐ trointestinal illness.
Abu Aser and Tayseer both believe their proximity to the landfill is affecting their children's health.
"The kids are all sick … their stomachs hurt," said Tayseer, who is originally from the north part of the Gaza Strip.
Israel attacked Gaza fol‐ lowing a Hamas-led Oct. 7 at‐ tack on southern Israeli com‐ munities that killed 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza health authorities say Israel's re‐ sponding assault has killed more than 35,000 people, with thousands more feared buried under the rubble.
Aid groups say health con‐ ditions in the Gaza Strip are already dire as hundreds of thousands of people pack in‐ to the crowded, unsanitary camps, noting that women and children have particular‐ ly struggled with poor living conditions.
Al-Farra says the city will only be able to move the dump back to its original lo‐ cation if the war ends and ac‐ cess to the old site is re‐ stored.
Back at his tent, Abu Aser says he and his family have nowhere else to go until the war is over.
"We can't handle a war," he said. "We can't handle anything anymore."