Before-and-after photos document devastation Israel unleashed in Gaza

By Nisanur Koc

ANKARA (AA) — The deepening impact of Israel's attacks on Gaza, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, on critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools, and mosques is starkly revealed in before-and-after photos captured by Anadolu.

Images from the region, taken before, during, and after the Israeli attacks, provide a clearer picture of both life before the onslaught, and the ensuing destruction.

Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip from Oct. 7, 2023, until the ceasefire on Jan. 19 caused massive devastation, while Palestinians continue to face dire humanitarian conditions even after the ceasefire.

According to a recent report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Israeli military has conducted over 136 airstrikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 medical facilities across Gaza, resulting in significant casualties among doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other civilians.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that only 18 or fewer of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional, with a total capacity of just 1,900 beds — far below the critical need. AA’s photos reveal the extent of the destruction inflicted on Gaza’s healthcare system.

- Hospitals in ruins

Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, the only public hospital serving the area, had a 360-bed capacity and nearly 100 doctors as of 2022. A stark contrast emerges between photos dated Dec. 27, 2023, and Jan. 19, 2025, showing the severe damage caused by Israeli airstrikes.

The 2023 photo captures wounded Palestinians at the hospital’s gate, indicating it was still operational, while the image from January 2025 reveals the hospital in ruins.

The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, built by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) between 2011 and 2017, was another key medical facility targeted.

The hospital had eight interconnected blocks, four operating rooms, intensive care units, laboratories, and 180 rooms across an area of 33,400 square meters (nearly 36 0,000 square feet).

A photo from April 6, 2021, shows the hospital functioning as a major COVID-19 treatment center. By 2025, Anadolu’s images depict parts of the hospital damaged, burned, and rendered unusable.

A similar fate befell the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza, which is now out of service. An Anadolu photo from Aug. 22, 2024, shows the hospital still providing treatment despite Israeli attacks and the blockade, but a later image from Jan. 20, 2025, exposes the devastation that left the building nonfunctional.

Among the scenes of destruction at the hospital, rooms and equipment are visibly damaged, ceilings have collapsed, and the interior has become uninhabitable.

In Beit Hanoun, one of the main targets of Israeli attacks in North Gaza, entire areas have been reduced to rubble. Side-by-side photos of Beit Hanoun Hospital, taken on Jan. 29 in both 2018 and 2025, illustrate the degree of destruction at the facility that once served 350,000 people with 86 beds and 204 staff.

- Palestinian refugee schools not spared

Images also show that schools — one of the few shelters for forcibly displaced Palestinians — are completely unusable after Israel’s assault.

The Islamic University of Gaza, long targeted by Israeli airstrikes, is among the educational institutions that were destroyed.

Founded in 1978, the university of 11 faculties also housed the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital. A photo from Aug. 2, 2014, captures the severe damage from earlier bombings, while an aerial image from Feb. 10, 2025, shows the university reduced to ruins.

Offices belonging to the Türkiye-based Human Rights and Freedoms Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in Gaza have also been repeatedly targeted.

A 2021 photo shows four ambulances donated by IHH parked in front of the building. But, a 2025 image reveals extensive damage to both the facility and its surroundings.

- Residential areas and mosques destroyed

New photographs highlight the scale of destruction in Gaza’s residential areas and places of worship.

Israel launched its airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, the “Great Catastrophe” when 750,000 Palestinians were displaced with Israel’s official founding in 1948. Side-by-side images from 2023 and 2025 reveal stark differences, with the latest photo showing once-standing buildings reduced to rubble and ash.

In Jabalia, northern Gaza, heavy shelling early in the war left many buildings in ruins. An aerial image taken by Anadolu on Oct. 11, 2023, shows widespread destruction.

By Oct. 30, 2025, another image confirms that no intact buildings remain in the area following months of Israeli attacks and ground operations.

Al-Farouk Mosque, the largest mosque in the Al-Shabura refugee camp, was also targeted. Initially struck multiple times, the mosque’s minaret and much of the structure had remained standing in early 2024.

A photo from March 1, 2024, shows the imam leading Friday prayers among the wreckage. However, by Feb. 6, 2025, even the minaret had collapsed, leaving behind only rubble.