Updated

Scientists say Israel's destruction of Gaza's sewage infrastructure during the war may have worsened an algae bloom crisis in the Mediterranean Sea, compounding the enclave's existing water and public health emergency. The findings add an environmental dimension to the humanitarian crisis, with untreated wastewater from Gaza suspected of contributing to nutrient loading that fuels harmful algal blooms along the eastern Mediterranean coast. Israeli outlet Ynet reported that the bloom has now shut down five of Israel's six major desalination plants along the Mediterranean, forcing scientists to investigate whether Gaza's collapsed wastewater system is a contributing factor. The disruption to Israel's desalination capacity underscores how the war's infrastructure damage in Gaza may be generating cross-border environmental consequences affecting Israel's own water supply.