Drone video above Gaza City shows the toll of 2 years of war
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- Drone video reveals Gaza City largely reduced to rubble after two years of war, with few buildings still standing and roads shrouded in dust.
- The United Nations estimates 83% of Gaza City structures are destroyed or damaged, with 61 million tons of debris requiring removal across the Gaza Strip.
- Rebuilding will cost more than $50 billion as Palestinians return to devastated homes, many shocked by the unprecedented scale of destruction.
GAZA CITY — New drone video shows what remains of Gaza City after two years of war and as a ceasefire holds in its second day.
The video taken by the Associated Press on Saturday shows few buildings still standing in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood. The rest appear to be gutted. Piles of debris rise well above the tops of vehicles. Roads are shrouded in concrete dust.
The video also shows few people out and about. They walk or drive among the ruins as tens of thousands of Palestinians make their way to what is left of their homes. Gaza City was the focus of Israel’s military offensive in the weeks before the ceasefire.
The scale of destruction in Gaza City will likely become clearer as Israel’s military withdraws to ceasefire lines, but more than three out of every four buildings have been destroyed, the U.N. said in September, creating a volume of debris equivalent to 25 Eiffel Towers, much of it likely toxic. (Video by Associated Press)
Some returning residents told the AP they were shocked by a new level of ruin.
“We did not expect this magnitude of destruction,” said one, Farah Saleh.
“Is that what is left of Gaza? We are returning to no homes and no shelter for our kids, and winter is approaching,” said another, Shreen Aboul Yakhni.
Their clothing and possessions were rare spots of color in the shattered landscape.
If the ceasefire holds, the toll of devastation will be better understood. Already, the United Nations Satellite Center estimated that 83% of all structures in Gaza City had been destroyed or had some damage by late September. It has said around 78% of structures across the Gaza Strip had been destroyed or sustained damage by July.
The new drone video helps put the scale of reconstruction into focus. Some 61 million tons of debris will need to be cleared across the territory — the equivalent of 25 Eiffel Towers by volume, according to the United Nations Environment Program.
Gaza’s vegetation, too, is largely dead. The U.N. Environment Program has said that 97% of tree crops, 95% of shrubs and 82% of annual crops are gone.
Rebuilding Gaza will require more than $50 billion, the World Bank has estimated. The territory’s more than 2 million Palestinians hope to begin now, one blanket or beam at a time.
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