Satellite Images Detail Gaza’s Catastrophic Destruction After Two Years of Conflict

A recent ABC News analysis of satellite imagery reveals the catastrophic scale of destruction across the Gaza Strip, coinciding with the two-year mark since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent military response. The comprehensive review, utilizing images up to early October 2025, shows entire towns and neighborhoods razed, with critical infrastructure like schools, hospitals, and religious sites extensively damaged or destroyed.

Estimates from Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data, analyzed by Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University’s Conflict Ecology lab, suggest as many as 197,000 buildings have been impacted. The analysis highlights the complete leveling of towns such as Umm al-Nasser and Al-Mughraqa, where satellite images from March 2025 confirmed the destruction of every single structure in Umm al-Nasser.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an August 2025 press conference, addressed the destruction, attributing it to Hamas’s use of civilian structures for military purposes, necessitating Israeli forces to detonate explosives or engage with booby-trapped buildings. The IDF, in response to inquiries, stated its activities comply with international law and aim to prevent “offensive terrorist activities.”

The visual evidence also underscores the immense humanitarian crisis, with Al Mawasi, designated a “humanitarian area” by Israel, transformed into vast, overcrowded tent camps. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini noted in August 2025 that services in these areas remain severely inadequate. Furthermore, a staggering 88% of Gaza’s schools are reported as damaged or destroyed, with five schools in Khan Younis and Al-Firdaws Elementary in Rafah among those leveled as recently as August 2025, often cited by the IDF as “terrorist infrastructure.”

The satellite images offer an stark, objective view of the widespread devastation, illustrating the profound and lasting impact of the ongoing conflict on Gaza’s landscape and its population.

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