90% of Buildings Destroyed in Northern Gaza Town

By VirentaNews Staff — April 28, 2026

In the northern Gaza Strip, the town of Beit Hanoon now resembles a post-apocalyptic landscape, with over 90% of its buildings either completely destroyed or severely damaged. Footage filmed by an Israeli soldier and verified by BBC News shows block after block reduced to piles of concrete and twisted metal, with only a few walls standing amid vast fields of debris. Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies, analyzed by conflict monitors, confirms the extent: entire neighborhoods that once housed thousands have been erased. The destruction raises urgent questions about the humanitarian cost of Israel’s military campaign launched in response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks, which killed approximately 1,200 people and triggered one of the most intense urban warfare operations in recent history.

From Bustling Town to Battlefield

Beit Hanoon, once a densely populated agricultural hub just south of the Gaza-Israel border, was among the first areas targeted following Hamas’s cross-border incursion. With a pre-war population of around 55,000, the town served as a residential and economic node for northern Gaza, linked to nearby Jabalia and Gaza City. After October 7, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) declared northern Gaza a combat zone, issuing evacuation orders and launching sustained airstrikes followed by ground assaults. The area, already one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, became a focal point of military operations due to suspected Hamas infrastructure, including tunnel shafts and weapons storage. The IDF claims precision targeting minimized civilian casualties, but the scale of destruction revealed in soldier-shot video and geospatial analysis suggests otherwise, prompting international concern over compliance with the laws of war.

The Footage That Reveals the Scale

The soldier’s video, recorded during a patrol in late October, captures a desolate terrain where few structures remain intact. Streets are impassable, buried under collapsed walls and debris. Houses, schools, and mosques are shown reduced to foundation slabs. The footage, while not depicting active combat, offers rare ground-level documentation of the aftermath—something largely inaccessible due to Israeli restrictions on press access to active combat zones. Humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), have cited such evidence to warn of a near-total collapse of civilian infrastructure in northern Gaza. According to OCHA, over 70% of homes in Beit Hanoon and surrounding areas have been destroyed or damaged, leaving tens of thousands without shelter during the winter months.

Urban Warfare and the Cost of Military Strategy

Military analysts suggest the destruction in Beit Hanoon reflects a broader Israeli strategy of neutralizing Hamas through overwhelming force in complex urban terrain. Unlike open-field combat, urban warfare demands meticulous clearance operations, often involving the use of heavy explosives to dismantle booby-trapped buildings and underground networks. The IDF has acknowledged using armored bulldozers and precision munitions to dismantle Hamas’s tunnel systems, some of which extend beneath civilian areas. However, experts argue that the proportionality of such tactics is now under scrutiny. According to a report by Reuters, the density of explosives used per square kilometer in northern Gaza exceeds that of recent conflicts in Mosul and Raqqa. This level of destruction, while potentially effective in degrading militant capabilities, raises serious legal and ethical concerns under international humanitarian law, particularly regarding the principle of distinction between combatants and civilians.

Humanitarian Catastrophe and Displacement

The destruction of Beit Hanoon has contributed to a mass displacement crisis, with over 1.9 million Palestinians—nearly 85% of Gaza’s population—forced from their homes, according to UN estimates. Many residents fled south under perilous conditions, lacking food, medicine, and safe passage. Those who remained face dire shortages of clean water, medical care, and electricity. Health facilities in northern Gaza, including the nearby Al-Awda Hospital, have been repeatedly targeted or rendered non-functional, limiting emergency response. The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the situation as “a descent into collective punishment,” warning that the obliteration of civilian infrastructure may constitute war crimes if found to be indiscriminate or disproportionate. With winter rains turning rubble into mud, the health risks—including outbreaks of cholera and respiratory infections—are escalating rapidly.

Expert Perspectives

Legal scholars and military ethicists are divided on the implications of the destruction. Some, like Professor Yuval Shany of the Hebrew University, argue that while Israel has a right to self-defense, the scale of damage in civilian areas demands independent investigation. Others, such as retired IDF colonel Richard Kemp, defend the operations as necessary given Hamas’s use of human shields. Meanwhile, human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for accountability, urging the International Criminal Court to examine potential violations. The debate centers on whether military necessity can justify the near-total erasure of a town and its civilian fabric.

As global pressure mounts for a ceasefire and humanitarian access, the ruins of Beit Hanoon stand as a stark symbol of the war’s devastating toll. With reconstruction estimated to take decades and cost tens of billions, the path to recovery remains uncertain. The key question now is whether the military objectives achieved in northern Gaza will yield long-term security or deepen cycles of violence. The world watches, as satellite images and soldier footage alike bear witness to a landscape forever altered.

Source: Al Jazeera