Israel says it coordinated delivery of rat pesticides to Gaza to counter infestation

Hundreds of cartons of specialized poisons, 20 tons of pesticide reported delivered in conjunction with US-led Coordination Center, as warm weather and tent city sewage attract rodents

Israel said Thursday that it was working to help counter rat infestations in Gaza, helping move hundreds of cartons of rat poison into the territory as the warmer weather sees a surge in pests spreading through the tents of displaced Palestinians.

COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that coordinates Israeli activity in Gaza, said on X that it was working with the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center “to manage sanitation efforts in the Gaza Strip.”

“Yesterday, for the first time, hundreds of cartons of specialized pesticides for rodent and rat control were transferred. This was delivered alongside an additional 20 tons of pesticides and pest-control equipment,” COGAT said.

“​Over the past few weeks, we have coordinated the entry of approximately 110 tons of pesticides in partnership with aid organizations and the international community,” COGAT added.

Contaminated water and refuse has accumulated near the tent cities where many Gazan families sleep, cook and wash, and aid groups have warned this gives rodents and parasites a unique environment to spread.

Meanwhile, Gazans have reported being bitten and having their few remaining belongings gnawed at by rats.

According to the local World Health Organization representative, there were around 17,000 rodent and ectoparasitic infection-related cases in Gaza so far this year.

Over 1.9 million of the Strip’s roughly 2.3 million people have been displaced during the war, and more than 1.2 million have lost their homes, the United Nations said last month.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect in October, has not ended the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, where sewage and sanitation systems have been mostly destroyed and humanitarian aid is subject to Israeli restrictions.

The truce came after two years of war, triggered by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, cross-border assault on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Israel cites security concerns for its limits on aid to Gaza, which since a ceasefire agreement in October has been split roughly in half, with one part controlled by Israel and another that is still de facto ruled by the Hamas terror group.

Some humanitarian supplies appear on an Israeli blacklist of dual-use items, which the government says must be tightly restricted because they could be exploited and weaponized by Hamas or other terror groups in the Strip.