By Lama Obeid
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The attack, which is part of the Israeli military's goal of expelling Palestinians from Gaza, has already destroyed at least 400 homes and displaced around 90,000 residents.
Gaza City, home to roughly one million people, now counts nearly 200,000 displaced residents—half the entire population of the besieged and war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
We spoke with Asem Al-Nabih, spokesperson for the Gaza Municipality, to understand the situation on the ground and how the municipality has shifted its focus to crisis management amid the ongoing genocide.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role at the Gaza municipality?
A. I currently serve as the spokesperson for Gaza Municipality, as well as a member of its Emergency Committee.
Since October 2023, I have been working with my colleagues to document the catastrophic destruction, coordinate emergency responses under fire, and speak to the world about what is happening on the ground.
My role is both technical and humanitarian, communicating the reality of daily life, amplifying the voices of people under genocide, and trying to mobilize resources for survival and reconstruction.
Q. What areas of Gaza does the municipality cover and how many people does it serve?
A. The Gaza Municipality covers Gaza City, the largest urban area in the Strip. Before the war, Gaza City had a population of around 800,000 residents, but today the number has swelled due to displacement from northern and central areas.
In practice, our services now extend to over one million people seeking refuge, many of them in makeshift shelters, tents, or crowded public buildings.
Q. Has the municipality been able to carry out its operations amid the ongoing genocide?
A. The truth is, we have not been able to operate normally. Israel’s continuous bombardment has paralyzed municipal systems, deprived us of fuel and equipment, and destroyed many of our facilities.
Yet we continue in emergency mode, focusing on basic survival, distributing scarce water resources, responding to sanitation issues, collecting solid waste and removing debris to open blocked streets.
Q. Have any of the Gaza Municipality’s facilities been targeted? If so, can you tell us how this has affected its operations?
A. Many of our facilities have been targeted amid the ongoing war. Our main municipal headquarters, several service garages, and workshops have been destroyed. Even our solid waste trucks and bulldozers were bombed.
This deliberate targeting cripples our ability to deliver services, especially waste collection and water pumping.
The destruction is not collateral; it is systematic.
Q. What are the main services that the Gaza municipality provides to city's residents?
A. Traditionally, the Gaza Municipality has provided a wide range of services:
● Water supply (pumping and distribution)
● Sanitation and sewage management
● Solid waste collection and landfill operations
● Public markets and street maintenance
● Parks and public spaces
All of these are critical for daily urban life.
Q. Has the scope of these services changed since the genocide war was launched on Gaza? If yes, can you tell us more about it?
A. Since the war broke out, our services have shifted to crisis management. Instead of development or maintenance, we are focused on services such as:
● Water pumping, despite pipelines and water wells, is destroyed.
● Waste collection initiatives in coordination with international organizations and local communities.
● Temporary technical solutions to manage sewage.
● Emergency debris removal to clear access roads
Q. What are the main challenges the municipality in Gaza currently deals with?
A. Our main challenges amid the ongoing genocidal war, including continued bombardment, include:
● Destroyed infrastructure, with 85 percent of facilities damaged or inaccessible
● Overwhelming displacement, with 75 percent of people homeless and dependent on emergency services
● Fuel shortages, which have paralyzed waste trucks and water pumps
● Public health risks, with sewage floods, rodents, and waterborne diseases everywhere.
Q. You shared in a post on X that there is a shortage of wheelchairs. What role is the municipality playing in terms of medical and humanitarian needs?
A. This was not symbolic; it reflects the massive number of amputees and disabled people created by the Israeli bombings.
The municipality has the only centre for such a service. It was established 50 years ago. In coordinating with many NGOs, we deliver wheelchairs, crutches, and stretchers.
We try our best to fill humanitarian gaps wherever possible.
Q. Can you share some information on the infrastructure that Israeli occupation forces have destroyed amid the war?
A. The destruction has been in many areas.
● Water: 75 percentage of the total water wells in the city and more than 110,000 meters of water networks.
● Sewage: more than 200,000 meters of sewage networks and the majority of sewage pumps and stations.
● Heavy vehicles: 85 percent of the heavy and medium vehicles.
● Roads and markets: 70 percent of the roads have been partially or totally destroyed and most of the commercial markets and streets have been levelled.
Q. Has the municipality been able to make repairs since the start of the genocide?
A. Repairs are minimal. Without fuel, pipes, cement, or spare parts, we cannot rebuild. What we do is temporary patching, digging cesspits when sewage lines explode, improvising with plastic pipes, or recycling destroyed materials.
Our engineers work with what’s at hand, but true repair is impossible under war and blockade.
Q. You also spoke about the problem of rodents in Gaza. Can you tell us more about the causes of this and the current sewage and solid waste situation in the city?
A. One of the clearest signs of collapse is the rodent infestation. With sewage flooding streets and waste piling in every neighborhood, rats have invaded homes, shelters, and schools.
We urgently appealed for rat poison and pest control materials to be included in aid shipments. But until sewage systems are restored, this will only worsen.
Q. How many people has the municipality provided services to since the start of the genocidal war? And are there any statistics on the types of services?
A. Since the start of the genocide, we estimate that the municipality has provided emergency services to nearly one million residents, from clearing rubble to distributing water and organizing waste.
Q. Can you tell us more about the municipality fundraisers and the goals of these fundraisers. What has the municipality obtained from it?
A. We have launched fundraising campaigns aimed at:
● Securing basic humanitarian supplies like water tanks, generators, and pest control
● Supporting emergency employment for local workers in debris removal
● Purchasing fuel for trucks and water pumps
Some funds have reached us, but the needs are overwhelming.
Q. Why has the municipality decided to start its own fundraiser instead of depending on international organizations?
A. We decided to launch our own fundraiser because international organizations are constrained by politics, bureaucracy, and Israel’s control of aid.
Funds that go directly to the municipality allow us to act immediately, without waiting months for approval. People trust us because we are on the ground.
Q. For people who have never donated directly to the municipality but would like to, where can they donate and where can they find more information on how the funds are being spent?
A. Those who wish to donate can find information on the official Gaza Municipality channels, including our verified social media pages. We publish regular updates showing how funds are spent.
Q. As the Israeli occupational forces are threatening to level Gaza City and to take control of the city, what does this mean for the population of Gaza City, as it houses 1 million people, nearly half of the entire population of the Gaza Strip?
A. It would mean a catastrophe for nearly one million people. Most of them are already displaced, with nowhere safe to go.
The city is the last refuge after months of bombardment, and its destruction would force civilians into already unlivable areas under siege.
Forcing one million people through this bottleneck would mean mass hunger, dehydration, and preventable deaths, especially among children, the elderly, and the wounded.
My final message is that Gaza is not ruins, it is people: Skilled, resilient, and determined to rebuild if only given the chance.
If borders are opened, we can rebuild our city faster than anyone expects. What we ask of the world is not pity, but solidarity and the removal of the chains that keep us under genocide.
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