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Photos: Gaza before and after – a city transformed by war

Read the original at Al Jazeera ↗
Cite

Riash, M. H. A. A. (2026, October 9). Photos: Gaza before and after – a city transformed by war. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2026/10/9/gaza-before-and-after-a-city-transformed-by-war?traffic_source=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Al Jazeera · collected 2026-10-09 · by Maram Humaid; Abdelhakim Abu Riash

Quick Summary

The article presents a visual comparison of Gaza City before and after damage caused by ongoing military conflict since October 2023. Over eighty percent of Gaza’s buildings are damaged or destroyed, impacting infrastructure and historical landmarks. According to UNESCO, 164 cultural sites including 128 historic buildings have been verified as damaged or destroyed, affecting structures such as the Great Omari Mosque and al-Qissariya Market. The photos illustrate the transformation of once-familiar streets and public spaces into areas marked by rubble and destruction.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Gaza City, a historically significant area in Palestine, has undergone severe destruction since October 2023 when Israel launched its war on the enclave. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, over 80% of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed, transforming entire neighborhoods into rubble and decimating much of its infrastructure. UNESCO verified damage to 164 cultural sites, including 128 historical or artistic buildings, 14 religious sites, 9 monuments, 8 archaeological sites, 2 museums, and 3 depositories. The destruction has impacted iconic landmarks such as the Great Omari Mosque, Gaza’s oldest mosque, Qasr al-Basha, and the ancient Samaritan Bathhouse. Additionally, the war generated around 68 million tonnes of rubble, with recovery and reconstruction needs estimated at approximately $71.4 billion over a decade by the World Bank, UN, and EU. Before the conflict, Gaza's landmarks formed the backdrop to daily life; now, many familiar places have been erased or altered beyond recognition.

Written for “Gaza War Destruction” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Gaza War Destruction
World · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
1 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 4506 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-10-03
Tennessee prisons official resigns after Christa Pike’s failed US execution
2026-09-30
Indonesia suspends five officials over luxury apartments for inmates

Who wrote this

Maram Humaid; Abdelhakim Abu Riash
1 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Gaza Gaza City Israel UNESCO the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

Subjects

Gaza GPE · 6× Gaza City GPE · 1× Israel GPE · 1× UNESCO ORG · 1× the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics ORG · 1×

Narrative

This photo series contrasts archive images of some of Gaza’s most recognisable streets, markets and public buildings with new photographs taken three years into the war, showing how these familiar places have changed after years of bombardment and destruction.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
2026-10-09 · Al Jazeera
Photos: Gaza before and after – a city transformed by war · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 1 hedged)

In Pictures Gaza City – More than 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed since Israel launched its war on the besieged enclave in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, turning whole neighbourhoods into rubble and wiping out much of its infrastructure. For generations, Gaza’s streets, markets, schools, hospitals and public spaces formed the backdrop to everyday life. uncertain
streets → damage → life
They were places where people worked, studied, shopped, met friends and family, and built memories. asserted
people → work → memories
Many of the city’s familiar landmarks also carried a much longer history, reflecting Gaza’s thousands of years as a crossroads of different civilisations. asserted
Many → carry → civilisations
The war has also changed the face of Gaza by damaging or destroying many of those historic and recognisable landmarks. asserted
war → change → landmarks
UNESCO has verified damage to 164 cultural sites since October 2023, including 128 buildings of historical or artistic interest, 14 religious sites, nine monuments, eight archaeological sites, two museums and three depositories of movable cultural property. asserted
UNESCO → verify → property
Some of these places have been reduced to ruins, while others remain standing but heavily damaged. asserted
others → reduce → ruins
The destruction has altered not only individual buildings but the streets and neighbourhoods around them, removing landmarks that once helped people recognise and navigate their city. asserted
people → alter → city
This photo series contrasts archive images of some of Gaza’s most recognisable streets, markets and public buildings with new photographs taken three years into the war, showing how these familiar places have changed after years of bombardment and destruction. asserted
places → contrast → bombardment
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