The UN estimates that Israel’s destruction of Gaza has left between 55 and 60 million tonnes of rubble. [Getty]
The Israeli military has been transporting tonnes of waste and construction debris from Israel and dumping it inside Gaza.
Footage obtained by Haaretz shows trucks entering the Palestinian territory loaded with construction waste.
The vehicles enter via the Kissufim crossing in central Gaza and drive 200-300 metres where they dump the debris.
They then return to Israel where they are loaded with more rubble before repeating the process.
The orders came from field commanders, who have allowed Israeli companies to enter the Palestinian territory and dump the waste anywhere they wanted, according to officers who spoke to Haaretz.
Sources inside the Israeli military expressed dismay when approached by the Israeli news outlet.
“Beyond the fact that it’s disgraceful, it’s hard to believe this is what the army is dealing with. They’re dumping construction debris full of iron, irrigation pipes, and concrete blocks – materials Hamas will end up using for its own purposes,” said an officer.
An Israeli soldier who lives in a kibbutz near the border said “we’ll have mountains of garbage right in front of our homes for the rest of our lives, inside Gaza”.
“What’s the logic in taking thousands of tons of waste and dumping it just a few hundred metres from our houses?”
Another soldier said he had asked his superiors why the waste was not being disposed as a proper site.
His commanders told him that the countries involved in Gaza’s reconstruction will need to deal with it, he said.
The UN estimates that Israel’s destruction of Gaza has left between 55 and 60 million tonnes of rubble. The clean up is expected to take decades to complete and cost tens of billions of dollars.
The Israeli military denied knowledge of the matter.