New satellite images commissioned by the BBC reveal the extent of the destruction in northern Gaza, before the start of the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came to an end this Friday.
The photographs were taken last Thursday, just before the suspension of hostilities came into effect, following weeks of Israeli airstrikes and fighting on the ground.
A separate analysis of satellite data also provides a snapshot of the destruction across Gaza.
Drone images and verified videos show buildings and Entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.
Although northern Gaza was the focus of the Israeli ground offensive and is the most affected by the destruction, the destruction extends throughout the strip.
Israel says northern Gaza, which includes Gaza City, the main urban center, was a “major hub for Hamas,” the group behind the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli territory.
Analysis of satellite data suggests that Nearly 98,000 buildings across the Gaza Strip may have been damaged. Most are concentrated in the north, as shown on the map above.
Data analysis was performed by Corey Scher of the City University of New York Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University.
It is based on comparisons of two separate images, which reveal changes in the height or structure of buildings and therefore suggest damage.
We have analyzed satellite images of several areas with extensive damage.
Northeastern areas affected by the first airstrikes
The cities of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, in the north and northeast of the Gaza Strip, were among the first to be targeted by airstrikes after October 7. The Israeli military said Hamas used the area as a hideout.
Parts of Beit Lahia, dominated by olive groves and sand dunes that extended towards the border with Israel, have been devastated. The satellite image below shows an area in the northeast of Beit Lahia where a major block of buildings was destroyed.
The bulldozers seem to have cleared the roads and removed the rubble, while the Israeli army has cleared the ground and established defensive positions in the surrounding fields.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also They attacked the small nearby town of Beit Hanounless than 1.6 kilometers from the border.
They said that 120 objectives were achieved in the area on the first day of airstrikes.
As the images above show, between October 14 and November 22, the skyline of multi-story buildings and a mosque disappeared gradually and was reduced to rubble.
Damaged five-star hotel and razed nearby neighborhood
After weeks of airstrikes on Gaza, Israel advanced on land: tanks and excavators crossed areas which had been heavily bombed.
The IDF made its way south along the coast towards the Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in the Gaza City area.
As the image below shows, a whole series of craters can be seen in what was once a residential area.
Some of the buildings on the beachfront, among which was the first five-star hotel of Gaza, the Al Mashtal, as well as huts and restaurants, appear to have been partially destroyed.
About a week after the airstrikes began, the IDF warned Palestinians in northern Gaza to move to the south for their own safety of a river known as Wadi Gaza.
Despite the warning and hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Gaza City, areas of the south have continued to be attacked.
Damage and Israeli orders push a million people south of Gaza City
In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, thousands of people live in tents campaign or among the rubble of bombed buildings.
Although the damage is not as widespread as in the north, up to 15% of the city’s buildings may have been damagedaccording to analysis by Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek.
The cessation of airstrikes thanks to the truce encouraged some people to venture to the markets. In the image below you can see Damaged buildings near the city’s Grand Mosque.
Israel prepares for a long fight
In addition to advancing from the north, Israeli forces also crossed the Gaza Strip to the west, isolating Gaza City from the south.
In the image below, taken south of Gaza City, we can see what was previously a populated residential area. Now it has been cleared by the Israeli army with heavy machinery and there is a washed out road to the western coast of the Mediterranean.
You can also see dozens of military vehiclesincluding tanks, grouped behind fortifications made of earth.
Satellite images also show a square of land in Gaza City, near Al Azhar University, with a Star of David plowed into the ground by vehicle tracks.
Pre-war images showed children playing there and They suggested it was a park, But IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Hamas was using the land as a parade ground near a base. The area was taken by the IDF’s Golani Brigade.
The Star of David, which is used as a Jewish and Israeli symbol, was carried by armored vehicles in a ceremony in memory of Israeli soldiers who had died since the war began, Rear Admiral Hagari published in
With additional reporting by Thomas Spencer, Jake Horton, Alex Murray, Shayan Sardarizadeh, and Jemimah Herd.
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