Gazans Fled Their Homes.
They Have Nowhere to Return to

'It's Mind-blowing': 1.7 Million Palestinians Escaped Israel's Bombardment of Gaza. Most of Their Homes Have Been Damaged or Destroyed

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Satellites reveal the vast devastation across the Gaza Strip. The new reality that the Israel Defense Forces' operations have created will affect the entire region for years. This is how it looks

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One of Israel's most dramatic acts in the war, which erupted following Hamas' terror attack, is the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Gazans from their homes and the destruction of large swaths of the Strip. Residents, military officials and journalists describe scenes of vast devastation. "It's like after an atomic bomb," one of them reported in Haaretz after visiting northern Gaza.

An accurate estimation of the destruction is a challenging task due to the fog of war – and as the IDF restricts entry by journalists. But it's possible to create a map of the destruction using satellite data, which shows that at least half of all the buildings in the enclave are likely to have been damaged or destroyed, according to American researchers.
Most of the destruction is in the north, but bitter fighting is also underway in the south, as is seen in the satellite data. Some 1.7 million Gazans have fled their homes during the war, and most of them are now in the south, the United Nations says. Huge tent cities have been put up along the Egyptian border. A new humanitarian, security and diplomatic reality has emerged, and it will shape the region for years to come.

Palestine SquareHundreds of buildings around the square have been damaged or destroyed© Planet Labs PBC

Everything is damaged

The reporting on the war emphasizes the vast scope of destruction: Homes, commercial buildings, water and sewage infrastructure, medical facilities, schools, universities, mosques, churches, shopping centers and stores, food factories and aid centers. Roads, archaeological sites and cemeteries have also been damaged. To grasp the dramatic consequences, see first where Gazans lived before the war. Scroll down.

The north was the beating heart

Some 2.3 million Palestinians lived in Gaza, most in the north. This changed after October 7, with Israel's counter attack in response to Hamas' murderous assault on southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds kidnapped, accompanied by widespread torture, mutilation and sexual violence. One of the IDF's first steps was to order the residents of Gaza's north to head south. The map shows how many people lived in each of the Strip's five governorates before the war.

Hundreds of thousands of people quickly fled. The Israeli army's aggressive bombing campaign has continued with no interruptions save for a brief cease-fire in November when hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Seen in the photo: Bombing in Gaza City during the first week of the war.

Mapping the destruction

The IDF's bombing from the air, land and sea quickly caused extensive damage throughout the Strip. This satellite-generated map shows the areas damaged, destroyed or affected by collateral damage. The map highlights what Gazans and UN personnel have been saying throughout the war: "Nowhere is safe."

Everything is damaged

The north was the beating heart

Mapping the destruction

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