Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Gaza coastline becomes foremost recreational outlet this summer after sewage cleanup

Gaza coastline becomes foremost recreational outlet this summer after sewage cleanup

Thousands of families are flocking to Gaza's beaches this summer as the coastline becomes the territory's foremost recreational outlet.For the first time in years, most of the Gaza Strip's coastline is clean enough to swim in, thanks to a concerted sewage cleanup effort.
“We didn’t come for seven years because the water was not safe. Now it looks so much better … The color is different, more blue. This is our second beach day this year,” said Nabila Haniya told the Guardian.

“We have a lot of wars and troubles. The kids deserve to have some fun,” Haniya added.

After 15 years of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, one of the most pressing issues for 2.2 million people residing in Gaza is access to clean water.

Due to the Israeli restrictions on imports and the lack of proper maintenance, sewage treatment plants were overwhelmed years ago. Almost 97% of the water in Gaza’s sole aquifer is no longer potable, the Guardian report added.

For more than a decade, untreated waste has flowed directly into the sea, causing an environmental disaster and polluting one of the only affordable recreational opportunities in the isolated territory.

However, over the last year, Gaza's three internationally funded sewage treatment plants have been able to ramp up operations, thanks in part to a more consistent and plentiful supply of electricity.

In October 2021, 180,000 cubic meters of sewage per day were being dumped into the Mediterranean. Today 70% of the sewage is being diverted to modern treatment facilities, with the remaining 30% being partially treated. This means that 95 percent of waste is removed before the water returns to the environmental cycle.

The improvements have reduced sea pollution to its lowest level in years, prompting the local water authority to declare that 65 percent of the coastline is now classified as "green" or "yellow," indicating that it is safe to swim.

Children run in and out of the waves on the beach in Sheikh Ijlin, a neighborhood in Gaza City's south, begging their parents for camel rides and candy floss.Seven lifeguards monitoring Sheikh Ijlin’s beach told the Guardian that this summer is the busiest season they can remember.

The clear, blue water is a welcome sight in Gaza, where movement is severely restricted. More than half of the population is unemployed, and the electrical and medical infrastructure has crumbled.

An Israeli ban on the entry of what it considers "dual-use goods," such as building materials that can be repurposed by Hamas, also poses a continuing threat to Gaza's clean water supply.

“We need to replace spent pumps in the sewage treatment and desalination facilities, because otherwise, they will overflow. But I can’t just place an order, I have to get approvals and negotiate with Israelis to bring any parts in. By the time I have done that, even more damage has been done,” said Omar Shatat, the deputy executive director of Gaza’s Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, to the Guardian.

“We could rebalance the water cycle in Gaza in five years if it wasn’t for the occupation. As it is, you can’t call anything here sustainable. I try to anticipate what Gaza’s needs will be in five years, 20 years’ time, but it’s impossible,” he added.

Shatat cautioned that the progress made in cleaning up the sea this year is fragile and could easily be lost: “If the electricity supply becomes unreliable again, more sewage will be pumped into the sea. I think the reason things changed is because sewage here became such a huge issue it was starting to affect beaches and desalination plants in Israel too.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
×