Introduction
A shocking collection of before and after drone footage from the skies above Gaza, showing the scale of Israel’s genocidal war and its clear genocidal intent to make the Strip unliveable for the pre-October 7th population of 2.2 to 2.3 million Gazans.
While the official death toll just passed 60,000 people in early February 2025, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza only counts deaths registered at hospitals and morgues.
Recent statements by US President Donald Trump—who has access to considerable US and Israeli intelligence data—about forcibly transferring “1.6-1.7 million” Gazans and subtracting this figure from the pre-October 7th population of 2.2 to 2.3 million Gazans, the actual death toll could realistically be as high as 600,000 souls.
Before and After footage below is presented in chronological order with links to the original sources.
Guardian News: Gaza City before and after: footage shows destruction wreaked by war (16 November 2023)
16 November 2023—Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel triggered a declaration of war and a military response by Israel that has reduced large parts of Gaza to rubble. Apartment blocks, shops and streets lie in ruins amid a humanitarian catastrophe that has displaced at least 1.5 million people from their homes and left more than 11,000 Palestinians dead, according to officials in Gaza.
Reuters: Before and after drone videos show a devastated Gaza (8 April 2024)
8 April 2024—Drone footage filmed for over a year shows parts of Gaza City and southern Gaza prior to and following the damage and destruction from the war Israel launched against Hamas, after the terrorist group burst into Israel on Oct. 7, killed 1,200 people and dragged more than 200 hostages back to Gaza.
Business Insider: Before And After: 4 Gazans Show How War Has Torn Their Lives Apart (24 August 2024)
24 August 2024—The Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip once had a strong fishing industry and a vibrant hotel and restaurant scene. Through the lives of four Gazans, we map out the scale of the damage to the coastline and weigh if there is any hope of rebuilding these businesses once the current war is over.
Guardian News: How Israeli forces destroyed Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp (19 December 2024)
19 December 2024—Using video analysis and satellite imagery, the Guardian has chronicled the destruction of the Jabaliya refugee camp through three offensives since October 2023.
Associated Press: Drone footage shows destruction in Gaza’s Khan Younis (19 January 2025)
19 January 2024—Aerial footage on Sunday showed the devastation caused to the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip following 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas. Israeli bombardment and ground operations have transformed entire neighbourhoods in several cities in the enclave into rubble-strewn wastelands, with blackened shells of buildings and mounds of debris stretching away in all directions. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4apahi4
TRT World: Destruction left by Israel in Gaza’s Jabalia, Rafah, Khan Younis, Al Saftawi (19 January 2025)
19 January 2025—Dramatic footage reveals the extent of destruction in Jabalia, Rafah, Khan Younis, and Al Saftawi in Gaza during 15 months of Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged enclave.
Al-Jazeera English: Drone footage shows Gaza in ruins after 15 months of war (20 January 2025)
After 15 months of war, thousands of Palestinians are returning home with the ceasefire in Gaza into its second day. But with around 90% homes destroyed or partially damaged in Gaza. The place most Palestinians called home no longer exists. Al Jazeera’s Michael Appel reports.
The Times and the Sunday Times: Drone footage reveals Gaza destruction as ceasefire begins (19 January 2025)
19 January 2025—Drone footage showed Palestinians walking amongst destroyed buildings in the Al Saftawi area between Jabalia and and Gaza city in northern Gaza on Sunday morning, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect following a nearly three-hour delay. Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 46,913 Palestinians and injured 110,750 since Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said in an update on Sunday. The highly anticipated ceasefire deal could help usher in an end to the Gaza war, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.
Reuters: Drone footage shows Jabalia camp in ruins after Gaza ceasefire (20 January 2025)
20 January 2025—Drone footage, shot after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, reveals the extensive amount of destruction in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, with people walking through buildings leveled to the ground.
DRM News: Shocking Drone Footage: Gaza’s Mosques Before & After War (24 January 2025)
24 January 2025—Drone footage reveals the devastating impact of 15 months of war in Gaza, showcasing the destruction of iconic mosques in the region. Before-and-after visuals of Al Hassaina Mosque, the Great Omari Mosque, and the Great Mosque in Khan Younis highlight the extensive damage inflicted on these historic and religious sites. The footage underscores the war’s toll on Gaza’s cultural and architectural heritage, leaving once vibrant landmarks in ruins. The images have sparked widespread reactions, drawing attention to the lasting scars left by prolonged conflict.
Associated Press: Drone video shows destruction in Gaza City (29 January 2025)
29 January 2025—Drone footage showed the destruction of buildings in Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood where thousands have arrived for the first time since Monday after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.
ANI News: Before and after footage of war-ravaged Gaza with flattened buildings (5 February 2025)
5 February 2025—Once home to crowded streets and neighbourhoods with boulevards, mosques and gardens in Gaza are now flattened and covered in rubble. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (February 4) the U.S. would take over war-ravaged and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, shattering decades of US policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and drawing regional condemnation. Trump unveiled his surprise plan without providing specifics, at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement followed Trump’s shock proposal earlier on Tuesday for the permanent resettlement of the more than two million Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries, calling the enclave – where the first phase of a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal is in effect – a “demolition site.” The US taking a direct stake in Gaza would run counter to longtime policy in Washington and for much of the international community, which has held that Gaza would be part of a future Palestinian state that includes the occupied West Bank.
Scottish OG from the time of the First Intifada and the birth of the international movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people • Author of one of the first blogs, A Personal Diary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (1994-1998) • Former Friends of Birzeit University Coordinator • Former Birzeit University Public Relations Officer • Cofounder and Editor of the original Electronic Intifada website • Creator of countless websites for pro-Palestinian organizations around the world via nigelparry.net
