Once Vibrant Gaza City Reduced to Ruins as Israeli Assault Intensifies

Gaza City lies in ruins, devastated by months of relentless Israeli bombardment triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel.

Gaza City, with its rich history spanning thousands of years, once stood as the cultural and economic hub of the territory. It became the de facto capital of Hamas after the group seized power in 2007, and despite years of conflict and blockade, life had found a fragile rhythm supported by U.N. aid, Qatari funding, and underground smuggling networks. Residents could still enjoy coffee shops, yoga studios, and public parks, even under Hamas’s strict policing and staggering unemployment.

Now, that fragile structure has collapsed. Tens of thousands of Israeli airstrikes have reduced towers to rubble, flooding streets with sewage and garbage. Black smoke from burning plastic and wood fills the skies as residents resort to makeshift fuel, while the constant buzz of drones and the thud of airstrikes haunt the city’s skyline.

With Hamas’s police and administrative apparatus destroyed, Gaza City has descended into near lawlessness. “People may be thirty years old, but the exhaustion of war makes them look seventy,” one resident told CNN, describing extreme hunger and dire sanitation conditions. He added that people ration bathroom use to once every three days due to food shortages and high costs.

Even the city’s animals reflect the devastation. Packs of stray dogs, once scavengers, have grown aggressive after feeding on bodies left in the rubble. “At night, we hear dogs howling. They have turned wild,” the resident said, recounting how over twenty dogs savagely tore apart a cat.

As Israel prepares for a new offensive aimed at eliminating Hamas’s remaining fighters, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in shattered buildings are left to grapple with an uncertain future, one defined by hunger, lawlessness, and survival in a city that once thrived.