Mapping the ruins: Satellite evidence of urban collapse across Gaza

According to ABC News, damage assessment analyses conducted by the Conflict Ecology Lab at Oregon State University estimate that 197,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed during Israel’s war on Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a press conference with foreign media on August 10, commented on the extent of the destruction, claiming that the physical damage was not because “Israel targets structures while civilians are present,” but rather that “Israel waits for civilians to leave.” He also alleged that Israeli troops detonated old APCs (armored personnel carriers) packed with explosives on streets during battles with the resistance.

Umm al-Nasr and al-Mughraqa: Cities erased from the map

The towns of Umm al-Nasr and al-Mughraqa in Gaza have been completely leveled by Israeli attacks. Satellite images show that not a single building remains standing; every structure in both towns has been destroyed.

Umm al-Nasr, a Bedouin town in northern Gaza with a pre-war population of fewer than 5,000, was entirely flattened by Israeli forces between March 29 and 31, 2025, according to satellite analysis.

The Israeli military claimed that the demolitions were conducted “in accordance with international law” to prevent what it called “offensive terrorist activities.”

The public relations director of al-Mughraqa municipality said that residents had dispersed across several areas in western Gaza City, while others relocated to southern Gaza.

Satellite images show that large portions of al-Mughraqa — a city of about 11,500 people between Gaza City and central Gaza — were mainly destroyed between April and August 2024, during which Israel maintained control over the area it refers to as the “Netzarim Corridor.”

Flattened city blocks in Jabalia and Rafah

Entire city blocks have been wiped out in areas long occupied by Israeli troops, including Rafah, northern Gaza, and Khan Younis.

Satellite imagery reveals that in Tel al-Sultan, a neighborhood in western Rafah, nearly every building on every block has been demolished — with schools being among the few structures still standing.

A similar scene can be observed in images of Jabalia, a city in northern Gaza where Israeli ground operations have been repeatedly conducted.

Despite near-total destruction, tents are still visible among the ruins — erected by people who returned to the north during the latest ceasefire, only to find their homes destroyed.

Mass displacement in Al-Mawasi

The satellite imagery also captures the staggering scale of displacement across Gaza.

In al-Mawasi, kilometers of farmland have been transformed into tightly packed camps of thousands of tents. Israel has designated this area as a “humanitarian zone,” directing civilians to move there to avoid combat zones.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), said in August that services in the area were grossly inadequate. “Thousands of displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi have little or no access to essential services — food, water, electricity, or shelter,” he stated.

Satellite images show that just west of Khan Younis, thousands of tents stretch toward the coastline, occupying nearly every inch of available land — forming what looks like a new city on the landscape.

Schools in Rafah and Khan Younis destroyed

Satellite analysis and more than 200 verified social media videos indicate that 88% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed. At least 318 school buildings — or 58% of all educational facilities — have been partially or completely demolished.

The Israeli military claimed in a statement that it has no policy of targeting schools or teachers, arguing instead that the resistance’s use of schools and educational centers for operations justified strikes in those areas.

According to UNICEF data, al-Firdaws Elementary School in western Rafah — which had 488 students before the war — had become a shelter for hundreds of displaced Palestinians by spring 2024. Satellite imagery later showed that after Israeli forces took control of the area, the school was destroyed. Its debris was cleared in summer 2025 to make way for a humanitarian aid distribution site funded by a U.S.-supported Gaza relief foundation.

In Khan Younis, satellite images show that five schools within one complex — serving a combined total of 6,915 students according to UNICEF — were demolished in August 2025.

A video released by the Israeli military also shows four other schools, about two miles (3.2 km) north of that complex, being mined and blown up the same month. In the footage, the military described these schools as “resistance infrastructure,” claiming its troops were conducting operations against such sites in the Khan Younis area.