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| A satellite view shows an algae bloom along Gaza’s coast to Ashdod in Israel. Photograph: Sentinal Hub/Copernicus.eu |
Israel facing water shortages caused by destruction of Gaza’s treatment plants
Five desalination plants shut down for days, while Gaza remains in grip of severe water and sanitation crisis
Thu 24 Sep 2026
Israel is facing weeks of water shortages after an exceptional algae bloom crippled much of its desalination capacity, in a crisis scientists say was triggered when Israeli attacks destroyed much of Gaza’s wastewater infrastructure, causing a massive discharge of untreated sewage.
“Pollution does not recognise political borders,” said the Zalul Environmental Association, an Israeli NGO dedicated to protecting the country’s seas and shores. “The discharge of untreated sewage from the Gaza Strip into the sea is contributing to the worsening crisis affecting the Israeli desalination facilities. The wastewater contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which feed microalgae and cyanobacteria and may intensify their blooms.”
Despite last year’s US-brokered ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by a severe water and sanitation crisis. The Palestinian territory is plagued by rodents, and sewage floods its coastline after Israel destroyed its wastewater treatment plants.
Just across the border, a vast bloom of microalgae stretching up to 60 miles (100km) long has clogged filters at five of Israel’s six main desalination plants, which were shut down for days and have since been operating at a reduced level.
Experts say that after nearly three years of war, the environmental consequences of the destruction in Gaza are now spilling back into Israel.
“The discharge of untreated sewage from Gaza into the sea increases risks to Israel’s water production infrastructure along the southern Mediterranean coast,” said Jack Gilron, a professor emeritus and desalination expert at Ben-Gurion University’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research. “The current incident reinforces the need to prepare against threats to one of Israel’s main sources of drinking water.”
Since 7 October 2023, Israeli bombardment has destroyed 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure, according to a report by Médecins Sans Frontières. Direct strikes have been carried out on wells, carrier lines, reservoirs and desalination units.
Gaza’s water crisis remains severe. Before the war, 80% the territory’s supply came from an aquifer under the coastal strip, but that supply is now contaminated by seawater and wastewater and unfit for human consumption.
Most of Gaza’s drinking water came from desalination plants and three pipelines controlled by the Israeli water authority, but those pipelines were cut at the start of the war and have only partially reopened.
Meanwhile, damaged or destroyed distribution networks have left much of the population reliant on water trucks.
For many, this means a stark choice between drinking an extra cup of water or saving it to wash their hands and prevent disease... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/24/israel-water-shortages-destruction-gaza-treatment-plants-pollution-sanitation-crisis