SHOTLIST: KHAN YOUNIS, PALESTINE (OCT. 16, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF STRUCTURE AND TOOLS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY 2. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAYOR OF KHAN YOUNIS, ALADDIN AL-BATTA, SAYING: [...] "During the war and over the past two years, hundreds of thousands of people from the north and from Rafah took refuge in the city and governorate. At times Khan Younis hosted more than one million people, which put enormous pressure on the water and sewage networks. [...]Today, Khan Younis faces massive destruction. The overall destruction rate has reached about 85%. Some neighborhoods have been completely razed. Our city had 20 neighborhoods, 17 of which were completely destroyed. People, homes, trees, institutions, in short, every aspect of life was targeted. This is, in effect, a real annihilation of people, buildings, trees and institutions." [...] 3. POOL OF WASTEWATERKHAN YOUNIS, PALESTINE - OCT. 16, 2025: Israel’s attacks on two main wastewater treatment plant in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip have rendered the city uninhabitable as it has further worsened humanitarian, environmental, and health conditions in the area. The near-total collapse of infrastructure in the city has increased the risks of disease and epidemics. Mayor of Khan Younis, Aladdin al-Batta, told Anadolu Agency that Khan Younis is the largest governorate in the Gaza Strip, covering one-third of its area, and that about 550,000 people lived there before the war. During the war, hundreds of thousands of people from the north and from Rafah took refuge in the city, Batta said, adding that, at times, Khan Younis hosted more than one million people, which put enormous pressure on the water and sewage networks. He told that the destruction rate in the city has reached 85%, and that some neighborhoods have been completely wiped out. “Our city had 20 neighborhoods, 17 of which were completely destroyed. People, homes, trees, institutions, in short, every aspect of life was targeted.” The mayor stressed that the city’s infrastructure has been systematically destroyed, noting that one of the sewage treatment facilities that collected the city’s wastewater had been demolished, causing sewage to flow into the streets and spread disease. Batta also said that the accumulated rubble has paralyzed life in the city, emphasizing that people need the debris to be cleared urgently so they can return to their homes. However, due to the blockade imposed since 2007 and the recent attacks, they lack the necessary equipment to do so. Reporting by Nour Mahd Ali Abuaisha, Safiye Karabacak, Halime Afra Aksoy / Writing by Ayse Elif Erdis