Israeli Strike Severs Main Water Pipeline to Gaza City, Municipality Says

Large parts of Gaza City lost their water supply on Saturday after Israeli bombing damaged a main pipeline in the Shujaiya neighborhood, the Gaza Municipality said in a statement.

The damaged line belongs to Mekorot, the Israeli state water company that is one of the principal sources of water for the Gaza Strip. The municipality said it was in contact with relevant authorities to coordinate repairs and restore service as soon as possible, but gave no timeline.

The strike came despite an October 2025 truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. According to The New Arab's reporting, Israel has violated that agreement on an almost daily basis since it took effect.

The pipeline damage is the latest blow to a water system that aid workers and researchers say has already been largely dismantled. Environmental expert Saeed al-Aklouk told Anadolu Agency that Israel has destroyed more than 80 percent of Gaza's water infrastructure over the course of the war. Groundwater wells and distribution networks have been repeatedly hit since October 2023, a period in which, by one estimate cited in regional reporting, Israel has damaged or destroyed 90 percent of Gaza's civilian infrastructure overall. The UN has put the cost of reconstruction at roughly $70 billion.

Experts cited by The New Arab describe Israel's control over Mekorot and the water it channels into Gaza as a point of leverage over the besieged population, a tool for pressure rather than simply a utility arrangement.

The pipeline strike lands alongside a worsening food crisis. Border crossings remain closed to much of the flour and food supply Gaza depends on, and long lines have reformed outside the small number of bakeries still operating, most at minimal capacity.

Hamas said in a statement Saturday that Israel is reviving a deliberate starvation policy in Gaza.

"The occupation's move towards reinstating its policy of starvation against the people of the Gaza Strip exposes the international community's utter failure and the complicity of the Board of Peace and its institutions in this criminal Israeli policy."

The group said Israel is repeating the tactic because no one has held it accountable for past use of starvation against Gaza's civilian population. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant remain wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges that include the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

On Friday, the Euro-Med Monitor warned of a renewed risk of famine in Gaza, citing flour shortages, bakery suspensions, and the collapse of residents' purchasing power. The group's warning and the municipality's account of the pipeline strike have not been independently verified beyond the statements of the two organizations.