Satellite stories 5 - Gaza in ruins

One year on

The recent one-year anniversary of Hamas' attack on southern Israel allows an assessment of the effects on Gaza of the subsequent war.

Israel began airstrikes across the Gaza Strip within hours of the attack on October 7, 2023, and the ground invasion began shortly after, on October 27. In the months since then, the war in Gaza has continued unabated and has produced one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in recent decades, with over 42,000 people killed (according to the health authorities within Gaza), and almost 2 million residents displaced. It is estimated that nearly 60% of buildings in the enclave have been damaged or destroyed, with 87% of schools in Gaza being hit by munitions or damaged.

An analysis released by the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) on Sept. 4 estimates that 68% of roads in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, along with 70% of greenhouses and nearly 70% of tree crops. The risk of famine in Gaza is widespread.

Buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza's Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees on Oct. 11, 2023. Yahya Hassouna/AFP via Getty Images

What follows is a series of before and after satellite images of several districts of Gaza (the names/locations are on the images) that have been published by Planet Labs PBC.

You can read/see much more information here.

Before

After

Before (May 1^st 2023)

After (September 10^th 2024) (Note the tented areas)