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

Archive and recent photos show how three years of war left Gaza’s streets, landmarks and public spaces unrecognisable.Gaza's historic landmarks have been reduced to rubble, altering the city's landscape and erasing generations of memories. [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]Published On 9 Oct 20269 Oct 2026Gaza 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. They were places where people worked, studied, shopped, met friends and family, and built 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.The war has also changed the face of Gaza by damaging or destroying many of those historic and recognisable landmarks.UNESCO has verified damage to 164 cultural sites since October 2023, including 128 buildings of historical or...