Israeli airstrikes on municipal services in the Gaza Strip
[2][3] Those attacks also included the destruction of roads and most of the essential service infrastructure such as water tanks, sewage stations, and wells, which the IDF say are built on top of tunnels belonging to Hamas.[4] The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported in October 2023 that typically, 90% of Gaza's tap water is considered undrinkable, and this situation is exacerbated during times of conflict.[6] By June 2024, the destruction of municipal services had led to overflowing sewage, large trash garbage piles, and the spread of diseases such as hepatitis and cholera.[19] UNICEF warned that the destruction of municipal services had cut off "reliable access to safe water, toilets and washing facilities" which was causing disease and chronic diarrhoea among children.[20] In July 2024, nine months of Israeli air campaigns severely damaged Gaza's power facilities, leaving portions of the population without any electricity.