Residents forced to seek asylum in Gaza
Gaza:
Drone footage of Gaza during the six-month war between Israel and Hamas shows how the once vibrant Palestinian enclave has been transformed into a wasteland of rubble and twisted steel by Israeli bombardment.
In ordinary times, Palestinians can stand on the balconies of their buildings and enjoy the view of the Mediterranean Sea.
Footage from Reuters and other sources showed the buildings gone, reduced to a pile of cement and debris.
Residents are forced to wander in Gaza, seeking refuge from an Israeli offensive aimed at destroying its arch-enemy Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the campaign will not stop until Hamas is eliminated, so bombings and destruction are expected to continue.
The footage shows how Palestinians live in peaceful days in the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas on earth.
The Palestinians drove down a quiet street where, for as far as the eye could see, tall trees separated traffic. Footage taken later showed one demolished building after another on a nearby street. A man can be seen walking among the broken concrete of the ghost town.
According to Israeli statistics, the conflict began on October 7 when Hamas, which runs Gaza, broke into Israel, killing 1,200 people and dragging more than 200 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel’s relentless bombardment of the enclave has killed more than 33,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
As Palestinians endure bombings and try to cope with the humanitarian crisis, they recall places captured in Reuters drone footage, such as a quiet alley where a teenager speeds by on a bicycle.
The footage also shows a white mosque with a green courtyard overlooking the sea. Fast forward six months and footage will show many of Gaza’s destroyed mosques.
In pre-war footage, cars drive on a roundabout in another part of Gaza. There is almost no trace of it now.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
