Before and After Satellite Photos Show Parts of Gaza Razed To the Ground

Satellite images have revealed the destruction across Gaza following Israeli airstrikes over the last three weeks.

The images released by space technology company Maxar and widely reported by the media show the aftermath of the airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) which followed the attack by Hamas militants on October 7 in which 1400 people were killed and more than 200 people were taken hostage.

As of Thursday, at least 6,500 people have been killed in the Israeli strikes, according to Gaza authorities cited by Reuters, as anticipation builds over an Israeli invasion of the strip aimed at stamping out Hamas' leadership.

Maxar images compared the city of Beit Hanoun on the northeast of the strip on October 10—three days after the Hamas attacks with what it looked like on October 21. The later image shows how over 11 days, residential blocks had been flattened. Before and after images from Izbat Beit Hanoun show similar scenes of destruction.

Meanwhile, an aerial view of Atatra in northern Gaza on May 11 this year shows rows of apartment blocks. A photo from October 21 from the same altitude in the same area shows the extent to which apartment blocks were leveled by Israel's bombardments.

Photos taken from above the Al Shati Refugee Camp, Gaza compare the site on May 11 with last week October 21, showing large swathes of destruction to buildings and roads.

Since the start of the war, the IAF has been striking and destroying targets, many of which include weapons depots and Hamas tunnels. IAF chief of staff Brigadier General Omer Tishler said on October 11 that his forces were dropping bombs "around the clock" on Hamas targets "with no difference between day and night," The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel said on Thursday its air strikes hit 250 Hamas targets in the past 24 hours, including tunnels and rocket launchers, adding that its ground forces had made a big push into Gaza on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, a barrage of rockets was fired on central Israel from Gaza as air raid sirens sounded across much of the country, with reports of air defense interceptions, the BBC reported, noting that social media users had shared images of what appeared to be a fragment of a rocket hitting a building in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv.

Israel is seeking to attack Hamas targets ahead of an expected ground invasion to eliminate the group's leadership and rescue the hostages who hail from nearly two dozen countries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was still preparing for a ground invasion that could be one of several, which the United States and other countries are urging Israel to delay, according to Reuters.

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