Palestinians in Gaza return to find their city in ruins after Israeli troops withdraw

Anas Baba | January 25, 2025

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — For nearly 16 months, Israeli airstrikes pounded the Gaza Strip, flattening entire neighborhoods and leveling tens of thousands of structures.

A ceasefire agreement that began last Sunday has paused the war between Israel and Hamas, but this small territory — home to some 2 million Palestinians — now lies in ruins.

Israeli troops have withdrawn from city centers in Gaza as part of the deal.

For the first time in eight months, NPR got a glimpse of one of those cities this week. Rafah is where more than a million displaced Palestinians and most international aid workers sheltered during the first half of the war. The Rafah crossing with Egypt served as Gaza’s lifeline for food, medical supplies and fuel during those months.

But this city, like all of Gaza, was never safe. Entire families were killed while sheltering in Rafah.

A man assesses damage to his home in Rafah, Jan. 20. Palestinians returning during the ceasefire are finding little more than rubble and debris from Israeli airstrikes after more than 15 months of war.
A man assesses damage to his home in Rafah, Jan. 20. Palestinians returning during the ceasefire are finding little more than rubble and debris from Israeli airstrikes after more than 15 months of war. (Anas Baba/NPR)
A view of the destruction across the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Jan. 20, following more than a year of Israeli airstrikes and bombardment of the Palestinian enclave.
A view of the destruction across the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Jan. 20, following more than a year of Israeli airstrikes and bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. (Anas Baba/NPR)
Homes have been turned into piles of rubble in Rafah, which sheltered most people during the first half of the war, and in cities across Gaza.
Homes have been turned into piles of rubble in Rafah, which sheltered most people during the first half of the war, and in cities across Gaza. (Anas Baba/NPR)
A view of the destroyed Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the city center during the ceasefire.
A view of the destroyed Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the city center during the ceasefire. (Anas Baba/NPR)

When Israeli ground troops invaded the city in May in their pursuit of Hamas, people were forced to flee again. Israel’s military says it found Hamas tunnels and weapons in Rafah, and three months ago, it was where they killed Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Controlled demolitions, bulldozers and heavy airstrikes by Israel during the military’s eight month-long incursion there demolished the city: Some 16,000 buildings are completely destroyed, 80% of Rafah’s agricultural land has been destroyed, and all of its electricity networks, landlines, water wells and sewage pumping stations are destroyed or severely damaged, according to the latest municipality figures.

Here is a selection of photos showing the city before Israeli ground forces entered in May 2024 — the last time NPR was there — and what it looks like in their wake.

Rafah's skyline and buildings can be seen in this image from Feb. 14, 2024. Israeli troops invaded the city in pursuit of Hamas three months later, leaving the city in ruins and most buildings destroyed.
Rafah’s skyline and buildings can be seen in this image from Feb. 14, 2024. Israeli troops invaded the city in pursuit of Hamas three months later, leaving the city in ruins and most buildings destroyed. (Anas Baba/NPR)
The morgue inside Rafah's main Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital, seen here on April 21, 2024, received a steady stream of dead during the first months of the war, before Israeli ground troops invaded, closing off access to the hospital.
The morgue inside Rafah’s main Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital, seen here on April 21, 2024, received a steady stream of dead during the first months of the war, before Israeli ground troops invaded, closing off access to the hospital. (Anas Baba/NPR)
A woman carries a child killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah at the main Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital's morgue on May 6, 2024. The hospital was later destroyed, following Israel's ground invasion of the city in pursuit of Hamas.
A woman carries a child killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah at the main Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital’s morgue on May 6, 2024. The hospital was later destroyed, following Israel’s ground invasion of the city in pursuit of Hamas. (Anas Baba/NPR)
A view of crowds in Rafah on Feb. 6, 2024, when the city was sheltering more than a million displaced Palestinians during the first half of the war, and before residents had to flee again and set up makeshift tents for shelter elsewhere in Gaza.
A view of crowds in Rafah on Feb. 6, 2024, when the city was sheltering more than a million displaced Palestinians during the first half of the war, and before residents had to flee again and set up makeshift tents for shelter elsewhere in Gaza. (Anas Baba/NPR)
A photo of the morgue inside the Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Gaza on Feb. 18, 2024, before it was destroyed in the war.
A photo of the morgue inside the Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Gaza on Feb. 18, 2024, before it was destroyed in the war. (Anas Baba/NPR)

 

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