Three years after an Israeli air strike levelled a residential block in Gaza City, Palestinians gathered on Thursday to bury the recovered remains of 105 victims. Newly released satellite images show that approximately 80 per cent of structures across the Gaza Strip have been damaged, with about two-thirds of those destroyed, since the conflict began in October 2023.
The Realities of Widespread Destruction and Casualties
- An estimated 61 million tonnes of rubble now covers Gaza, measuring roughly 20 times the amount generated across all global wars over the past 18 years, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
- More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and 175,000 injured since the war began, based on figures from Gaza’s health ministry, while the conflict itself was triggered by a Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
- Human rights groups report that the Israeli military maintains direct control or imposes buffer zones over roughly 60 to 70 per cent of the territory, confining 2.1 million displaced people to crowded tent camps and devastated neighbourhoods.
Satellite Evidence and the Scale of Destruction in Gaza City and Rafah
Newly released satellite images on Google Maps, taken in June this year, document the heavy toll across the territory. Thousands of homes, businesses, and places of worship have been wiped away, leaving open spaces in Gaza City packed with shacks, tents, and temporary huts. Fresh damage is also visible in towns such as Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, alongside the destruction of the Istiqlal mosque in Khan Younis.
Large neighbourhoods including Jabaliya and Shuja’iya appear clearly uninhabitable following repeated military offensives. In the south of Gaza, wide swaths of rubble are visible near the Egyptian border, where the town of Rafah and Tel al-Sultan have been almost entirely reduced to ruins.
The presence of human remains still trapped beneath collapsed buildings presents a severe logistical and humanitarian challenge. Estimates cited by the United Nations Development Programme suggest that between 8,000 and 10,000 bodies may still be buried under the debris.
| Metric | Estimated Figure | Source / Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Total Rubble | 61 million tonnes | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) |
| Damaged Structures | 80 per cent (approx. 200,000 buildings) | Unrwa |
| Total Fatalities | More than 74,000 | Gaza Health Ministry |
| Displaced Population | more than 2 million people | United Nations agencies |
Humanitarian Aid Challenges and Warnings Over the Coming Winter
Nearly a year after a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025, humanitarian conditions in the enclave remain catastrophic. Addressing the UN General Assembly last month, secretary general António Guterres described the human suffering as still “off the charts,” noting that international humanitarian law is brazenly violated and access remains severely restricted.
The United Nations reports that an estimated 600 to 800 trucks enter the Gaza Strip daily, although humanitarian organisations note that only 20 per cent of those shipments carry vital aid. Meanwhile, UN deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Ramiz Alakbarov accused Hamas of disrupting distribution networks after armed men entered a World Food Programme warehouse in northern Gaza, assaulting two truck drivers.
