Satellite images show Gaza devastation after two-year war
Planet Labs released before-and-after satellite images showing catastrophic damage across Gaza — including Rafah, Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun — after more than two years of Israeli strikes in the Israel‑Hamas war. A United Nations Satellite Center report (July) estimates roughly 192,812 structures — about 78% of Gaza’s built environment — have been damaged or destroyed; Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 67,000 dead and roughly 90% of the population displaced as humanitarian conditions deteriorate amid ongoing hostage negotiations involving U.S. diplomacy.
International
War & Conflict
Humanitarian
📌 Key Facts
- Planet Labs PBC published comparative satellite images (pre‑war 2023 vs wartime 2025) showing large-scale destruction in Rafah, Jabaliya, and Beit Hanoun.
- United Nations Satellite Center (July) estimate: 192,812 structures damaged or destroyed — about 78% of Gaza’s structures.
- Gaza Health Ministry reports more than 67,000 Palestinians killed and about 90% of Gaza’s roughly 2 million people displaced; 48 hostages remain held in Gaza (about 20 believed alive).
📚 Contextual Background
- Israel enforces a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
- When the leadership echelon of an armed group is degraded or communications are disrupted, decentralized or multiple armed actors can complicate centralized control and communication, which can make coordinated, full hostage releases difficult and lead to staged or phased releases as logistics permit.
- A 2025 U.S. peace plan linked a hostage release to a reciprocal exchange involving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
- U.S. officials in 2025 described a two-phase approach to ceasefire negotiations in which an initial hostage release would be followed by an Israeli military pullback to a previously held boundary position, while decisions about Gaza's future governing structure could be negotiated concurrently.