Rats Invade Gaza's Surrounding Settlements

Settlements in the "Gaza envelope" have experienced an unprecedented wave of rats and mice, originating from the rubble of the Gaza Strip, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

The paper reported that the issue has evolved from being "limited" in recent months into a widespread phenomenon affecting settlers' homes, fields, and Israeli military sites.

Israeli assessments link the worsening situation to the scale of destruction and accumulation of debris in the Gaza Strip due to the war, while United Nations reports indicate that Gaza residents themselves are facing a broad spread of rodents and pests amid Israeli restrictions on importing materials needed to combat them.

However, according to Haaretz, the spread of rodents in Gaza’s surrounding settlements has reached unprecedented levels, noting that this phenomenon began in recent months first at Israeli military sites adjacent to the Gaza Strip before spreading to settlements and agricultural fields.

Settlers have reported large numbers of rats and mice inside their homes. Haaretz quoted a resident of the settlement of Nirim Yitzhak, stating that some residents removed around 100 rats from their homes within two days, while others described the situation as involving hundreds, or even thousands, of rodents across various settlements.

In the Nahal Oz area, one resident said they sometimes hunt about ten rats per day, while residents of Nirim Yitzhak reported cases where dozens of rodents were removed from a single home, with numbers reaching fifty or even one hundred in some instances.

The problem is not limited to food damage; residents have also reported rodents gnawing on electrical wires, entering walls, and damaging insulation. They have reached bedrooms and beds, with complaints from residents—including children—of rat bites.

According to reports cited by Haaretz from medical sources, at least ten settlers have been bitten by rats in recent weeks. Israeli media also reported last August that a two-year-old child suffered a rat bite while sleeping.

Rodent infestations have also extended to agriculture in the Gaza settlements, with reports of severe crop damage. Reports indicate that losses in some peanut fields have reached up to 70% of the harvest.

The Israeli government announced it had expanded rodent control operations in cooperation with the ministries of agriculture, environmental protection, and health, along with the army and local authorities. Settlers also reported a noticeable increase in the use of traps and other pest control measures compared to previous years.

According to statements relayed by Haaretz, the number of bait boxes used to control rodents in the region has increased from dozens in past years to nearly 1,000 this year, yet residents have observed no significant decline in infestation levels.

Israeli estimates suggest that the massive destruction and accumulated rubble in the Gaza Strip resulting from the war may be among the factors creating favorable conditions for rodents to breed and spread into areas surrounding the enclave.

Haaretz quotes Israeli experts who say that the rubble provides ample hiding places for rodents, while the availability of food sources increases their ability to reproduce and spread. The short distance between the Gaza Strip and nearby settlements does not pose a major obstacle to their movement.