Displaced people in Gaza used empty plastic bottles to try to remove raw sewage from their tents after a pipeline burst in the main southern city of Khan Younis, Al Jazeera reported.

Residents removed sodden carpets from their makeshift shelters as they began the long process of getting rid of the filthy water as children waded through a river of sewage that cut through a main road.

The spill made it almost impossible to live in the city where piles of debris and massive concrete slabs from bombed-out buildings line the streets. Workers in Khan Younis say they lack the proper equipment to repair the pipeline properly.

About 1.7 million people are now sheltering in Khan Younis and in central areas of the Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands have sought shelter there after being forced out of Rafah in the south by the Israeli military.