Images captured by Reuters via drones flying over Gaza before and after the onset of the Israeli attack on the Palestinian territory reveal a bustling urban area where children play and people live their normal lives, transitioning to a strange scene of dilapidated buildings and piles of rubble, resembling the surface of the moon.
The footage taken before October 7 shows schools, mosques, churches, and the 14th-century Islamic Burquq Castle. People were seen walking in the streets or driving their cars along tree-lined avenues. One scene depicted children on their way to school in a donkey-drawn cart, while other footage showed people enjoying themselves in a water park.
Gaza, located on the Mediterranean coast, has long been subjected to an Israeli blockade, with Egypt tightening border controls, leading to restricted movement for Palestinians. The Hamas movement governs the sector, which is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, where life continues despite years of economic distress.
Some footage highlighted the Beach Camp, one of the most overcrowded refugee camps housing families and descendants of refugees from the 1948 war. Other shots displayed the Nuseirat camp, where children were enjoying dancing in the streets. However, drone footage from the camp after the onset of Israeli bombardment showed widespread destruction, with images of craters emitting smoke and buildings leveled to the ground.
The drone footage captured collapsed buildings in street after street, with smoke rising from piles of rubble and severely damaged residential complexes. People could be seen wandering among the debris or searching through it, but regular activity was limited, and the number of cars on the streets was sparse.
Several shots showed individuals passing near destroyed buildings, appearing to leave their neighborhoods in search of refuge elsewhere. Footage recorded following the ceasefire on Friday depicted more people emerging onto the streets. However, the scenes were similar whether in Khan Younis to the south, Al-Zahra in the center of the sector, or Gaza City in the north, as places that once housed homes now consisted solely of piles of rubble, bricks, and concrete dust.
