DayofPal– The Israeli war on Gaza may have paused, but Gaza remains a land of wreckage and resilience. Satellite imagery shows immense destruction, yet within the rubble, signs of life are reemerging.
Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in January, tens of thousands of Palestinians have returned north, navigating a shattered landscape in search of what remains of their homes. Many found nothing but dust and debris. Others discovered partial walls, crumbling staircases, or remnants of their past lives buried beneath the ruins.
Yet, despite the widespread devastation, nearly 140,000 buildings, roughly 40% of Gaza’s structures, are still standing, according to radar imaging analysis by researchers at Oregon State University.
In the north, however, where Israeli airstrikes were most intense, the numbers are more severe: 72% of buildings in Gaza City and North Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. Only 28% of structures remain intact.
With few habitable buildings, families have turned to tents and tarpaulins. Satellite analysis by Bloomberg reveals thousands of makeshift shelters scattered across the north, pitched in the middle of roads, atop piles of rubble, or clustered near main roads where aid is more accessible.
“We see people returning to the places they once lived, even if those places are now nothing but ruins,” said Sam Rose, acting director of UNRWA, the largest aid organization in Gaza.
Still, safety remains a major concern. Local engineers are working to assess whether intact buildings can be safely reoccupied. The threat of unexploded ordnance looms large since the ceasefire began, at least five people have been killed by detonations, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Database (ACLED).
Despite the destruction, daily life is finding a way forward. Bakeries have resumed operations, small shops have reopened, and a network of community kitchens now produces 800,000 hot meals a day across the Strip, according to UNRWA. Some schools, previously converted into shelters for displaced families, have cautiously resumed teaching.
But the fragile return to normalcy faces a looming threat: Israel recently halted all humanitarian aid and imports. This move could further strain the already limited resources keeping Gaza’s population afloat.
North of Gaza City, in the devastated Jabalia refugee camp, the return home has been even grimmer. Established in 1948 for Palestinians displaced by the creation of Israel, Jabalia is now largely unrecognizable, its buildings reduced to skeletal remains. Satellite images show tents scattered across roads and debris fields, while children play among the wreckage.
In areas like Jabalia, survival depends almost entirely on aid organizations. People gather near wells, food distribution points, or makeshift field hospitals, desperately clinging to the few lifelines available.
“If you’ve got water, people will come back,” said Rose. “They know how to set up camps, direct sewage, and find ways to survive. But survival isn’t the same as rebuilding.”
Gaza’s farmlands, which make up 41% of the territory, have not been spared. Satellite analysis shows 80% of tree crops and 65% of greenhouses have been destroyed, according to He Yin, a geography professor at Kent State University. The land itself may be contaminated by unexploded ordnance, debris, and chemicals from bombings.
Despite this, parts of these lands are being considered for temporary housing. A key element of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement includes the provision of 60,000 caravans to help shelter displaced families.
“How much land is actually safe to use? That’s still unclear,” Yin noted.
Rather than staying in open land where humanitarian zones were set up during the war, most Gazans have chosen to return to their devastated cities.
Bloomberg’s satellite analysis found that since the ceasefire began, the number of tents in the Al-Mawasi “humanitarian zone” has dropped by nearly 40%, a sign that many are dismantling their temporary shelters and attempting to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
“The morning of the ceasefire, we woke up to the sound of hammering,” said Rose. “People were taking apart their tent structures. Within days, hundreds of thousands had moved back home.”
A second phase of the ceasefire was meant to begin on March 2, but negotiations collapsed, and Israel further tightened its blockade on aid. Meanwhile, political leaders debate the future of Gaza.
On March 4, Arab leaders convened in Cairo to discuss a reconstruction plan. Their 150-page proposal envisions housing Gazans in surviving buildings and prefabricated units while unexploded ordnance is cleared.
The full reconstruction effort is estimated to cost $53 billion, though key details, including who will oversee the process and the role of Hamas, remain unresolved.
For now, Gazans are left to rebuild as best they can. As Ramadan begins, some families break their fast among the ruins, their iftar meals illuminated by generator-powered fairy lights strung across the rubble.
“This is a highly educated population,” Rose said. “Gaza is full of engineers who can assess building safety, rebuild water systems, and direct sewage. They’ve had to do this before.”
But rebuilding takes more than expertise. It takes materials—cement, pipes, steel. “And right now,” he added, “Israel isn’t letting anything in that would suggest we’ve moved into a recovery phase.”
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