Besieged Gaza warns landfill fire could 'rage for days', appeals for international help

Gaza officials called for help to extinguish a fire that started in a landfill in a village bordering Israel on Thursday, saying it could last for days and cause "an environmental catastrophe".

A large cloud of heavy smoke billowed into the sky as night fell, and there was a strong smell of burning rubbish across Gaza City.

The fire started "in the eastern part of a landfill in Juhr al-Deek, southeast of Gaza City, near the separation fence, for reasons that have yet to be confirmed," the Gaza municipality said in a statement.

حريق هائل شرق مدينة غزة , بحسب بلدية غزة فإن نيران كبيرة اشتعلت بمكب النفايات شرق مدينة غزة محذرة من كارثة بيئية جراء استمراره لعدة أيام لعدم توفر الإمكانيات اللازمة لإخماده 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/CxkXW9Roh2

— غزة الآن - Gaza Now (@GazaNownews) March 3, 2023

"We fear the fire might spread across the landfill and result in an environmental catastrophe."

Local fire crews did not have the capacity to cope with the blaze, it added. The authority called on international organisations to help put out the blaze, and for international pressure on Israel to lift its brutal years-long blockade to let equipment in.

Since 2007, Israel has imposed an illegal blockade of Gaza since the Hamas movement seized control of the densely-populated coastal enclave in 2007, restricting the movement of people and goods, which in turn has lead to high poverty rates, medical equipment shortages, food insecurity and increased unemployment. 

Palestinians also say these restrictions have severely impeded their ability to respond to emergencies.

Last November, a fire broke out in a residential building in a refugee camp in the north of the strip, killing 21 members of a family and injuring several others. Moreover, Israel regularly carries out airstrikes on the besieged enclave which kill Palestinians, under the pretext of 'targeting militants'.