Gaza once offered a familiar urban landscape, where residents navigated by everyday landmarks such as a local bakery, a distinctive bank façade, and rows of uniform towers. The war that began on 7 October 2023 has altered that landscape, erasing the visual cues that once guided people through the city.
Satellite and ground reports show that around 83 % of buildings in Gaza City and 81 % across the Strip have been damaged, with roughly 123,000 structures classified as destroyed. The loss extends beyond physical structures; cultural and social practices tied to neighbourhoods have been disrupted, and the visual memory of the city has been replaced by images of rubble and emptiness.
The destruction has had a profound effect on basic services. Water supply is limited to about 30 % of the city’s needs, with central wells damaged and distribution networks largely inoperable. Electricity outages have crippled hospitals, schools and sanitation facilities, leaving only a fraction of Gaza’s 36 hospitals functional. Education has resumed in damaged buildings, but 98 % of schools have suffered damage, and many children remain outside formal learning.
Economic life has also been shattered. Unemployment sits near 78 %, inflation exceeds 200 %, and 92 % of businesses have been damaged or destroyed. Markets have reopened, yet purchasing patterns have shifted, with many residents relying on credit and basic goods remaining scarce.
Cultural heritage sites, including historic mosques, churches and archives, have suffered extensive damage, erasing tangible links to Gaza’s past. UNESCO has documented 164 damaged heritage sites, underscoring how the war has not only altered the physical map but also the collective memory of the city. The Gaza that remains is a landscape of rubble and resilience, where people rebuild what functions they can while acknowledging that the city’s former identity has largely been lost.
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