Attacks on water and sanitation systems in conflict zones have more than tripled between 2021 and 2025, according to a report released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday. The Water Under Fire report states that these assaults increase the risk for children regarding violence, malnutrition, and exposure to disease outbreaks.
The report documents strikes on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems, as well as the personnel and communities relying on them, across 23 countries and territories. UNICEF recorded fewer than 45 incidents across eight countries in 2021, a figure that rose to more than 135 incidents across 15 countries in 2025.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stated that these attacks “deprive children of safe drinking water and the essential services that rely on water to function effectively”.
Water Under Fire 4 covers the period from January 2021 to June 2026. It identifies seven categories of assaults, including strikes on wells, pipelines, and treatment plants, as well as the contamination of water sources and the imposition of restrictions on chemicals and spare parts needed for water treatment.
The report cited examples from places such as Sudan, where by March 2024, only one of the 13 water treatment plants in Khartoum state was fully operational, while more than 130,000 meters of sewage pipelines have been destroyed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
The report also highlights how water supply can be disrupted even when infrastructure remains intact. In November 2025, a drone attack on a gas field in Iraq reduced electricity production in the Kurdistan region by about 80 per cent, forcing authorities to ration power between cities, hospitals, and water projects.
UNICEF notes that these attacks have “reverberating effects” on health systems, which may become unable to sterilize equipment, deliver babies safely, or prepare therapeutic milk for malnourished children. The report also documented instances in the Gaza Strip of children being killed, injured, or harmed while waiting in line for water. It further noted that women and girls fetching water face risks of sexual violence and lost educational opportunities. Additionally, the UN recorded the killing of 14 water facility employees in Lebanon during the 2024 conflict.
UNICEF is calling on warring parties, Member States, donors, and humanitarian actors to protect WASH systems as an indispensable element for civilian survival. The agency is also calling for a systematic data collection mechanism for attacks on these facilities, the protection of workers in the water and energy sectors, and the facilitation of unhindered access for humanitarian workers and essential supplies.
The report indicates that funding cuts are currently undermining humanitarian efforts. While 137.9 million people need assistance in the WASH sector among countries with a coordinated humanitarian response, only 26 per cent of the required funding has been received this year.
Ms. Russell stated that while humanitarian workers work to keep water flowing despite increasing attacks, repairs cannot substitute for the protection of these facilities required under international humanitarian law.
