UNICEF: attacks on water and sanitation systems in war zones have more than tripled since 2021

Attacks that damaged or destroyed water and sanitation systems in conflict zones roughly tripled between 2021 and 2025, according to a new report from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), published on 5 November. UNICEF counted fewer than 45 such incidents in eight countries in 2021 and more than 135 incidents in 15 countries in 2025.

What the report covers

The fourth edition of “Water Under Fire” covers January 2021 to June 2026 and documents airstrikes and other assaults on water, sanitation and hygiene systems, on their staff and on the communities that rely on them, in 23 countries and territories. It sorts the attacks into seven categories, from strikes on treatment plants, pipelines and wells to the contamination of water sources and restrictions on the spare parts and chemicals needed to treat water.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said such attacks “deprive children of safe drinking water and the essential services that rely on water to function effectively”.

Examples cited

The report points to Sudan, where by March 2024 only one of the 13 water treatment plants in Khartoum state was fully operational, and to the Gaza Strip, where more than 130,000 metres of sewage pipelines have been destroyed since October 2023. It also describes children being killed or injured while queuing for water in Gaza.

Damage does not have to hit a pipe or a pump to cut supplies. In Iraq, a drone attack on a gas field in November 2025 reduced electricity production in the Kurdistan region by about 80 per cent, forcing authorities to ration power between water projects, hospitals and cities. The report also cites the UN’s record of 14 water facility employees killed in Lebanon during the 2024 conflict.

Wider effects

UNICEF says the consequences reach well beyond drinking water. Without clean water, health systems cannot sterilise equipment, deliver babies safely or prepare therapeutic milk for children with severe malnutrition. Women and girls, who are often responsible for fetching water, face risks that include sexual violence and lost schooling.

What UNICEF is asking for

The agency calls on warring parties, member states, donors and aid organisations to protect water, sanitation and hygiene systems in conflict zones, to set up a mechanism to collect data systematically on attacks on them, to protect children seeking water and the workers who run the services, to allow safe and unhindered access for humanitarian, water and energy workers and supplies, and to invest in approaches that can withstand conflict.

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