Severe Rodent Infestation Spreads Across Gaza Envelope Communities
A severe rodent infestation is plaguing communities in the Gaza envelope near the border. The Eshkol Regional Council has ramped up chemical, biological, and drone extermination efforts.
A severe rodent infestation has been spreading in recent months across communities in the Gaza envelope, particularly in areas adjacent to the border. Residents report mice, rats, and other rodents penetrating homes, institutions, and agricultural fields, while the Eshkol Regional Council is working on multiple fronts to address the phenomenon.
The first reports were received as early as July in Kibbutz Sufa, and later spread to additional communities in the southern part of the council, towards the center and north. According to the council, the most severe epicenters are located in settlements adjacent to the border, and an initial assessment estimated that the source of the nuisance is in the fields. At the same time, the possibility that sanitary conditions in open areas across the border are also contributing to the reproduction of rodents is being examined, but at this stage there is no professional determination to that effect.
Damage and Health Concerns
Adel, a resident of the council, described the damage caused in her home: "Today I discovered that under the sink they chewed all sorts of bottles. Oil is one thing, but they also made holes in a bottle of dishwasher rinse aid and in other materials, even dangerous ones." According to her, in one case she was even bitten while sleeping. "He didn't draw blood, but it was really scary."
"Today I discovered that under the sink they chewed all sorts of bottles... in one case I was even bitten while sleeping." — Adel, Eshkol resident
Measures and Extermination Efforts
The Eshkol Regional Council has expanded extermination activities, among other things through chemical pest control in areas and settlements, drones, and biological pest control. About 200 new barn owl nesting boxes have been installed in the area, most of them already active, with the aim of helping to reduce the rodent population naturally.
At the same time, the council is working with the Ministry of Defense, the Operations Directorate, and the Southern Command to approve a rodent-spraying mission in the border area on both sides. This is a move being examined against the background of the scale of the phenomenon, but it is still unclear whether it will be approved and whether it will actually take place.
One of the assessments in the area links the phenomenon to climate conditions and the rains of the past winter, which led to the reproduction of several types of rodents simultaneously. The council emphasizes that there is no single solution to the problem, and that coping requires a combination of pest control inside the settlements, treatment of agricultural and open areas, and the expansion of biological pest control.
The council stated that in recent weeks "an unusual increase in the scope of rodents was recorded in a number of communities adjacent to the border," and that the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health, and the IDF have been mobilized for the effort. It was further stated that monitoring and extermination operations are being carried out in the settlements, agricultural fields, and open areas. According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, as of now no unusual health risk has been identified for residents.
