How Israel’s war on Lebanon’s water has become existential

Israeli attacks have damaged water infrastructure in southern Lebanon, making it harder for people returning after the fighting to access essential services. A South Lebanon Water Establishment employee, Bahij Abdallah, was wounded in a strike on a pumping station on 9 June 2026, five days after a ceasefire was announced.

A July assessment by the state utility lists damage to 175 reservoirs, 16 main pumping stations, 124 wells and boreholes, nine springs, 104 chlorination systems, 85 generators and more than 2,500 kilometres of pipe. It estimates repair costs at over $550 million and says more than 700,000 people are affected; rebuilding is expected to take years. The utility also reports that 26 employees have been killed and its subscriber base has fallen by about a third.