GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The municipality of Gaza City launched May 23 a large volunteer clean-up campaign in the city, following the recent Israeli escalation on the Gaza Strip. The escalation, which ended May 21 and dragged on for 11 days, left behind severe damage to the infrastructure, sewage plants and electric grid in the coastal enclave. In addition, new environmental and health crises were added to the list of crises that the Gaza Strip already suffers from due to the Israeli siege that has been ongoing for 16 years.

In a May 20 statement the municipality said the Israeli strikes on two water pipelines of 14 and 16 inches in diameter in the Gaza district of al-Saftawi halted water supply to 20% of the city’s population, i.e., nearly 200,000 people. The suspension of water supply has aggravated the water crisis in Gaza, which is caused by the Israeli deliberate attacks on water pipelines, it added. The statement indicated that the municipality began its inspection to temporarily repair the damage and ease the water crisis caused by the strikes.

The targeted water pipelines in the recent escalation are 6,000 meters (3.7 miles) in length, causing a water crisis and shortage to some parts of Gaza.

Hosni Mhanna, spokesman for the municipality of Gaza City, told Al-Monitor, “The Israeli strikes caused a great deal of damage, because the road network in Gaza was a direct target. Nearly 70 streets were hit, which destroyed nearly 130,000 square kilometers [roughly 50,000 square miles] of sidewalks and street tiles.”