Wildlife and Genocide: The Environmental Cost of the Occupation in Gaza - By Francisco El Jimagua

 

Investigative Journalistic Review

By: Francisco El Jimagua Cartagena Méndez

Writer, Independent Journalist, Human Rights Activist

Genocide in Gaza | NotiDigitalPR

November 7, 2026 

I. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT ON ANIMALS AND ECOSYSTEMS

The occupation and bombardment of Gaza caused devastation that extended far beyond human loss, reaching environmental and ecological dimensions of extraordinary severity. Organizations such as Animal Heroes (2023) reported the destruction of homes and animal shelters, leaving thousands of animals injured, starving, or dead. Emergency veterinary clinics were established in Gaza and the West Bank to care for dogs, cats, and donkeys affected by the bombings and mass displacement amid a humanitarian collapse that spared no species.

Local shelters such as Al-Sulala, located in Deir al-Balah, reported that many animals were abandoned by their owners as they fled the attacks. Its founder stated that the organization may have been the only animal welfare organization still operating in Gaza during 2023, struggling with severe shortages of food, medicine, and clean water for surviving animals (Al Jazeera, 2023). At the Rafah Zoo, numerous animals died from starvation and neglect after the facility was converted into a refugee camp. Its owner described the situation as "deeply tragic," illustrating the complete collapse of the infrastructure dedicated to animal care (Middle East Eye, 2023).

In Jabalia, northern Gaza, reports indicated that stray dogs had begun feeding on human remains, reflecting an environment of profound social and ecological collapse (The Guardian, 2023). This scene, as brutal as it was symbolic, revealed the depth of devastation and dehumanization experienced throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.

The genocide also caused unprecedented environmental destruction. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2024), the bombings, widespread destruction of infrastructure, and collapse of sanitation systems resulted in rapidly accelerating contamination of soil, water, and air, with potentially irreversible consequences for natural ecosystems. Habitat loss, extensive deforestation, and the disruption of ecological cycles placed numerous local species at risk, including many endemic species and others already vulnerable due to climate change.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, 2024) warned that the destruction of agricultural land, contamination from war debris, and the absence of environmental management had triggered an ecological crisis threatening both food security and ecosystem resilience. Marine biodiversity was likewise severely affected by the daily discharge of more than 100,000 cubic meters of untreated wastewater into the Mediterranean Sea following fuel shortages that rendered wastewater treatment plants inoperable.

Although no formal reports were devoted exclusively to animal deaths, agencies such as the United Nations and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, 2024) recognized animal suffering as part of the broader humanitarian collapse documented in Gaza. The invisibility of these non-human lives further underscores the urgency of incorporating their memory into narratives of resistance, dignity, and mourning.

2026 Update

The most recent evidence confirms that environmental devastation and animal suffering in Gaza not only persisted but intensified throughout 2025 and 2026. In its Environmental Impact Assessment Update published in March 2026, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that the cumulative destruction of infrastructure, the collapse of sanitation systems, and contamination from war debris had produced accelerated ecological degradation, critically affecting natural habitats and local wildlife.

The report concluded that the disruption of ecological cycles, the loss of agricultural land, and contamination of soil and groundwater had reached "potentially irreversible" levels, threatening both terrestrial and marine biodiversity across the occupied Palestinian territory. Likewise, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in its April 2026 update, documented that the environmental crisis had become a structural component of the broader humanitarian collapse, affecting not only human communities but also thousands of domestic and wild animals trapped in bombardment zones without access to water, food, or veterinary care.

At the same time, local animal welfare organizations reported that conditions in shelters deteriorated even further during 2026. Fuel shortages and the destruction of road networks prevented the evacuation of injured animals, while the lack of veterinary supplies resulted in a significant increase in mortality among dogs, cats, donkeys, and poultry. Shelters such as Al-Sulala reported that following the attacks of January and February 2026, the number of abandoned animals doubled, with many suffering from severe injuries, extreme malnutrition, and untreated infectious diseases.

The combined effects of environmental contamination, habitat destruction, and forced abandonment created conditions in which animal life became entirely exposed to the structural violence of the conflict. This update demonstrates that the genocide not only destroyed human lives but also devastated entire ecosystems and thousands of non-human lives that, although historically overlooked, constitute an essential part of the ecological and emotional memory of the Palestinian territory.

The Author's Ethical Interpretation

Francisco El Jimagua

While working on the second edition of this book and watching my cat, Elessar Mithrandir, I found myself imagining the horror experienced by thousands of animals and companion pets during the occupation and bombardment of Gaza, together with the indescribable suffering of the survivors who lost their entire families—including the animals who had shared their lives. Reflecting on those broken bonds—those companions who provided comfort, affection, and a sense of home—confronted me with a dimension of genocide that is seldom acknowledged: the silent death of non-human lives that also formed part of the emotional and everyday fabric of Palestinian society.

The systematic death of animals and companion pets in Gaza represents one of the least acknowledged dimensions of the region's collective suffering. To me, the abandonment and extermination of non-human lives reveal the complete collapse of both civil society and ecological coexistence. Naming this reality is an act of remembrance and resistance that restores dignity to those who had no voice amid the siege. Every animal lost represents a story, a bond, a daily routine, and a home that was also destroyed. Remembering them is to recognize that violence destroys not only human bodies but also the emotional relationships that sustain life itself.

Ethical Conclusion and Final Reflection

In times of war, animals are often the last victims to be acknowledged, yet their suffering bears witness to the total abandonment of life itself. The loss of biodiversity—both terrestrial and marine—deepens this silent wound, leaving irreversible scars upon ecosystems that are themselves part of the collective memory.

Remembering these non-human lives is not a minor gesture; it is an acknowledgment that genocide destroys not only human beings but also the relationships, landscapes, and species that sustain existence. Environmental destruction and animal suffering are inseparable components of the crime, and their memory deserves a rightful place in any account that genuinely seeks justice.

Independent Journalism with Purpose 

References

Al Jazeera. (2023, December 15). Gaza’s only animal shelter struggles to
survive amid war. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/15/ gazas-only-animal-shelter-struggles-to-survive-amid-war

Al Jazeera. (2024, June 16). No animals for sacrifice in Gaza for second
year amid war. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/16/no-animals-for-sacrifice-in-gaza-for-second-year-amid-war

Animal Heroes. (2023). Emergencia en Gaza: ayuda para animales
víctimas del conflicto. https://animalheroes.org/emergencia-gaza

Middle East Eye. (2023, November 10). Gaza zoo animals die as war
turns refuge into shelter for displaced people. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-zoo-animals-die-war-refuge-shelter-displaced

The Guardian. (2023, December 20). Gaza’s stray dogs feed on corpses as
humanitarian crisis deepens. https://www.theguardian.com/ world/2023/dec/20/gaza-stray-dogs-feed-on-corpses-humanitarian-crisis

Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA).
(2024, junio 18). Los daños en Gaza provocan nuevos riesgos para la salud humana y la recuperación a largo plazo. https://www.unep.org/es/noticias-y-reportajes/comunicado-de-prensa/los-danos-en-gaza-provocan-nuevos-riesgos-para-la-salud

UNRWA. (2024). La Franja de Gaza: Impactos medioambientales del
conflicto en destrucción sin precedentes. https://unrwa.es/defensorasdelatierra/INFORME_CAST.pdf

United Nations Environment Programme. (2024). Environmental impact
of the conflict in Gaza: Preliminary assessment. https://www.unep.org