The center of Gaza City, once known for its traffic jams, shopping malls, and cafes, has transformed into an « apocalyptic » landscape with bodies scattered on the streets and flattened buildings following intense clashes between Hamas and Israel.
« The Israeli army has withdrawn from the Al-Rimal neighborhood, leaving behind massive destruction and burning buildings. We are patient, but the situation is unbearable, » laments Tariq Ghanem, 57, a teacher.
« There are bodies on the road for days, even a week, and no one to retrieve them, » he continues.
The Israeli army has not confirmed its withdrawal from Gaza, where it intensified its offensive this week, calling on 300,000 to 350,000 people to flee, according to the UN.
On Friday morning, as residents heard that soldiers had left, some went to inspect the damage, and Civil Defense deployed its teams.
It reported finding about sixty bodies in two southwestern neighborhoods (Tal al-Hawa, al-Sinaa), in addition to around 60 other bodies found the previous day in an eastern neighborhood, Shuja’iya, the scene of two weeks of fighting.
According to Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Civil Defense, dozens of other bodies still litter « the roads and debris » of Tal al-Hawa and al-Sinaa, where searches continue.
Along the Mediterranean seafront in this once-bustling downtown, entire buildings have been flattened, others charred.
The ten-story « Bank Palestine » tower is intact only at the top. The lower levels appear to have been blown away.
« Anywhere you look in Gaza City, the level of destruction surpasses imagination, » reports Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
After a field visit, she describes the situation as « apocalyptic, » as the war in Gaza enters its tenth month.
Hostilities were triggered on October 7 by a Hamas attack on Israel, killing 1,195 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
Israel vows to destroy Hamas, which took control of Gaza in 2007.
Its military campaign has devastated Gaza, killing more than 38,340 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, without specifying the number of fighters killed.
In previous wars, notably in 2021, the central Al-Rimal neighborhood was heavily damaged, with the army targeting underground tunnels.
This time, the army says it operated in the UNRWA headquarters area, accusing the UN agency of allowing Hamas to establish a presence.
It found numerous weapons, the entrance to an underground tunnel, and a nearby weapons workshop, while UNRWA said it left the site in October.
On Friday, one wall of the building was blackened with soot.
On another wall, a message: « Gaza, promise us reconstruction. »
