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New satellite images reveal the extent of the destruction in the Gaza Strip after enduring more than two years of Israeli strikes during the war with Hamas.
Planet Labs PBC released the images on Tuesday, showing the Palestinian enclave before the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, and after the war began.
An estimated 192,812 – about 78% – of all structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a United Nations Satellite Center report from July.
Where homes, buildings and fields once stood in the southern city of Rafah, there were now craters and barren wastelands.
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In Jabaliya, a city north of Gaza City, areas once green were turned to dust and dirt around decimated structures.
In northeast Gaza, the city Beit Hanoun appeared leveled. Before the war, tens of thousands of people were estimated to have lived in the city.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of some 2 million, often multiple times, and restrictions on humanitarian aid have contributed to a severe hunger crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.
The war has already killed over 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half the dead.
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The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, storming army bases, farming communities and an outdoor music festival, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including women, children and older adults.
Hamas abducted 251 others, most of whom have since been released in ceasefires or other deals. Forty-eight hostages remain inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.
Hamas has said it will release them only in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas has been removed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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