Updated satellite imagery released via Google Maps reveals the scale of destruction across the Gaza Strip, where between 81 and 90 percent of buildings have been damaged or destroyed since the conflict began on October 7, 2023. Norwegian orthopaedic surgeon Geir Stray Andreassen, who has worked with Palestinian health workers in the territory over multiple decades, described the updated views of leveled neighborhoods. According to United Nations figures, the volume of ruined structures has increased by ten percent over the past year alone.
Satellite Updates Reveal Wide-Scale Devastation in Southern Gaza
The updated Google Maps imagery highlights severe structural damage in areas such as Tel al-Sultan, located northwest of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip. International media and independent observers have relied on remote sensing data to assess the territory following Israel’s restriction barring foreign journalists from entering Gaza independently since the military campaign commenced. United Nations reports note that more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, while extensive portions of civilian infrastructure remain flattened.
Geir Stray Andreassen, who maintains direct contact with medical staff inside the enclave, pointed to video footage sent by local contacts showing families inspecting the rubble of their former homes.
Territorial Control and Humanitarian Impact
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in May that Israeli forces maintain control over 60 percent of the Gaza Strip, with plans for expanded territorial presence, according to reporting by The New York Times. Palestinian writer and poet Mosab Abu Toha, a recipient of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for commentary published in The New Yorker, wrote on Instagram that the ongoing military actions systematically erase entire urban areas. Abu Toha noted that aerial and mapping views expose not just ruined architecture, but the personal belongings, books, and household items buried beneath collapsed walls.
The conflict traces back to the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of over a thousand people. In response, Israeli military operations escalated rapidly across the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian organizations and local residents continue to document the toll on civilian areas, where makeshift recreational spaces like volleyball courts have emerged amid the concrete ruins in Gaza City.
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