Haaretz yesterday published satellite imagery graphically depicting the extreme destruction that Israel has already wreaked on the three Gaza City neighborhoods of Shujaiyeh, Zeitoun, and Tuffah, where “most of the urban space appears to have been flattened by the IDF, with many buildings that were intact in the early images appearing completely destroyed in the later ones.” The before photos were taken on July 17, the after ones on Aug. 25. The latter call to mind those taken after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.
“Data from the Gaza rescue services acquired by Haaretz indicate that over 85% of Shujaiyeh and Tuffah have been destroyed, and in the city of Jabalya and in Zeitoun, as well as other Gaza City neighborhoods, over 70% of the buildings have been demolished. On the ground, they documented the broad use of quadcopter drones that launched explosives on buildings in the eastern part of the city, along with artillery fire in the northern and western parts of the Strip,” the paper reported. “Due to the large-scale demolition, many of Gaza City’s residents have been displaced from their homes. The rescue services estimate that tens of thousands have been displaced from the destroyed neighborhoods in the city and other areas in the northern Strip. They are crowded into areas covering about 12% of the Strip. The difficult living conditions there are increasing the fear of a humanitarian disaster even more serious than the present one.
“Sources in the rescue services say that the absence of access to basic services—water, electricity and medical care—is making life in areas where displaced persons are staying intolerable.”
