More than 1,000 craters visible from space after Israeli strike on Palestinian Gaza

An analysis by The Guardian shows that in one half-kilometer-wide, heavily bombed residential area alone, there are about 100 large craters visible from space. Some of them reach 13.9 m in diameter.

At least one hospital and three schools in the area were knocked out of action, apparently due to a nearby explosion. Other buildings in the photo taken on October 30 were completely leveled and reduced to rubble, The Guardian notes.

In the war, launched in response to an Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,400 people, Israel said it fired more than 8,000 munitions into Gaza, hitting more than 12,000 targets. This is more than the US used in a year during its operations in Afghanistan.

Airstrikes in the Palestinian strip have killed more than 9,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The number of children killed in Gaza – now more than 3,700 – has exceeded the annual number of children killed in all conflict zones around the world since 2019, according to Save the Children.

More than 200 schools were damaged – about 40% of the total number of schools in the Gaza Strip – and about 40 of them very seriously, according to the UN Children’s Fund.

According to international humanitarian law, schools and hospitals are protected civilian objects, and when carrying out strikes, the humanitarian principles of distinction and proportionality must be taken into account, The Guardian recalls

Meanwhile, satellite imagery and video from public and official sources show Israeli ground forces closing in on Gaza City, the largest and most populous center in the Palestinian enclave, CNN reported.

CNN imagery analysis helps shed light on what’s happening on the ground, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says the military has surrounded the city.

“IDF forces are encircling Gaza by air, land and sea, encircling Gaza City and its surrounding areas,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said Friday. “The fighters are moving forward in battles, during which they destroy above- and underground terrorist infrastructure and eliminate terrorists.”

Since the IDF launched a ground offensive in Gaza a week ago, the latest phase of its war against Hamas, its troops have advanced in three directions – from Gaza’s northwestern border along the Mediterranean coast, from the northeast near Beit Hanoun and from the east to the west, along the southern part of Gaza City – in an apparent attempt to split the strip in two.

Israeli troops have advanced inland along this western stretch, toward the sea, according to European Space Agency satellite imagery on Wednesday that showed forces roughly less than a kilometer from completely encircling Gaza City.

Despite the low resolution images, they appear to show the tracks of heavy armored vehicles snaking along a strip south of the city center, almost reaching the coast.

Videos showing Israeli advances south of Gaza City have not yet emerged, but footage shared by the IDF and circulating on social media in recent days showed Israeli troops advancing into Gaza’s northernmost towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Atatra – and were located along the perimeter of Gaza City from the north.

Satellite images and video footage also show Israeli troops on Salah al-Din Road, a highway running the entire length of the strip that appears to be blocking southbound traffic to anyone still in Gaza City. One video filmed by Palestinian freelance journalist Yousif Al-Saifi and released on Monday showed an Israeli tank opening fire on a car on the road.

The urban area covering Gaza City is home to nearly 2 million people living in an area of ​​88 square miles, which is about 21 thousand people per square mile.

In preparation for its ground invasion, Israel ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza immediately after the war began, ordering residents to move south of Wadi Gaza, a waterway bisecting the center of the strip. But only two weeks later, on October 28, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” of the war and a single goal: “to destroy this enemy.”

Israeli army movements have been slow but focused over the past week, with troops advancing toward Gaza City, where the IDF says Hamas has militants and civilian command centers and a vast system of underground tunnels.

Satellite images taken Monday showed several breaches in the border wall and vehicle tracks where Israeli troops crossed into northwestern Gaza before moving south along the beach and through farmland. Other images showed similar destruction in the northeast and east of the country.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, also released a video they claim shows a drone dropping ammunition on Israeli soldiers. According to CNN’s geolocation, the attack occurred east of Beit Hanoun. Hamas said the attack happened on Wednesday.

Because of the high risk of discovery of improvised explosive devices, mines or similar booby traps, the IDF uses heavily armored bulldozers to clear what the military calls “safety lanes” through obstacles so that tanks and ground troops can pass. Bulldozers are also used to push through rubble-strewn streets, demolishing buildings and creating defensive positions for infantry.

Israel Ziv, a retired Israeli general, told CNN that one of the army’s key maneuver strategies was to effectively expand the territory in which it fought. “The entire infrastructure, we are destroying it ahead of time. We do this both from the air and from the ground, so the maneuvering does not take place on the streets, but rather in open areas, on ruins,” he said.

Video footage confirmed by CNN from northern Gaza showed abandoned buildings that suffered extensive damage from Israeli air and artillery strikes ahead of the ground operation. There is no visible presence of civilians or Hamas fighters in the footage.

It is unclear how many civilians are still in Gaza City, where they face a growing humanitarian crisis as supplies of medicine, drinking water and food dwindle and Israeli troops move closer.

A doctor at the city’s main hospital, Al Shifa, said on Friday that dwindling fuel supplies had plunged wards into darkness and cut off fundamental functions such as oxygen production. The hospital was overwhelmed with patients as well as displaced people desperately seeking protection from the Israeli attack.

“If there is no electricity, this hospital will turn into a mass grave,” said Dr. Abu-Sittah. – Everything is very simple. if we can’t keep the ventilators going. If we can’t get our critically injured patients back into the operating room, then there’s nothing left for this place to do but die.”