sewage

The Russians also targeted a sewage treatment works outside the village and set up a command post there once the Ukrainians had abandoned the facility.

The claimants allege pollution has been caused by run-off from farmland containing high concentrations of phosphorus, nitrogen and bacteria from the spreading of poultry manure and sewage bio solids used as fertiliser.

"When these pipes get blocked, we can't simply switch off the sewage. It backs up and must come out somewhere, whether that's roads, rivers or even people's homes. The consequences can be devastating."

But it has faced heavy criticism over its performance in recent years over a series of sewage discharges and pipe leaks.

But he never imagined the scale of it, describing it as an "attack on every layer of life in Gaza, from infrastructure, electricity, the water supply, the sewage system, the hospitals, schools and universities."