Before and after satellite images show how Israel has destroyed Gaza City

Israel is demolishing Gaza City’s high-rise towers, flattening entire blocks that once housed thousands of people.

The Palestinian Civil Defence said at least 50 multistorey buildings have been destroyed in recent weeks as Israeli forces press their assault on the city, all amid a wave of forced displacements.

Some neighbourhoods have faced near-total destruction. In Gaza City’s Zeitoun area alone, more than 1,500 homes and buildings have been destroyed since early August, leaving parts of the district with no buildings left standing.

Israel forcing people to move south

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said people are making their way from Gaza City to the southern and central areas of the Gaza Strip. However, some people have been coming back because they are unable to find a place to stay.

The only routes south are Salah al-Din Street and the coastal al-Rashid Street. Salah al-Din is sealed off by snipers while movement along al-Rashid, crowded with displaced families in tents, is deadly.

There is no safe place in Gaza, including the “humanitarian zone” designated by Israel in the southern coastal area of al-Mawasi.

Satellite imagery from September shows entire neighbourhoods have been flattened and many hospitals, schools, places of worship and homes damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks.

Below are before and after images from nine neighbourhoods in northern Gaza:

Sheikh Radwan

Over the past few weeks, intensified Israeli military operations have struck Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, a densely packed area known for its crowded markets and narrow streets.

Many residents who had sought refuge there have encountered tanks advancing into the area northwest of the city centre, destroying homes and setting fires in tent encampments.

Remal

Gaza City’s Northern and Southern Remal neighbourhoods are home to key landmarks, including al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, and the city's main seaport.

Surrounding the hospital were several United Nations compounds, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Gaza’s top universities - including the Islamic University of Gaza, al-Azhar University-Gaza and Al-Aqsa University, which are just a few hundred metres apart - were also located in Remal.

In recent weeks, Israeli attacks have destroyed several high-rise residential and office buildings across Remal, including the Mushtaha Tower, al-Ruya building, al-Salam Tower, the Tiba Tower and other multistorey structures.

Tuffah

Israeli forces have conducted multiple air strikes and ground operations in Tuffah, targeting residential areas and infrastructure.

The satellite images below reveal how entire sections of the once vibrant neighbourhood - long known for its bustling markets, schools and community spaces - have been reduced to rubble.

Sabra

Israel has destroyed more than 1,000 buildings in the neighbouring Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City since it began its sustained assault on the city on August 6, trapping hundreds of people under rubble, the Palestinian Civil Defence said in August.

Zeitoun

Once a thriving, vibrant neighbourhood in Gaza City, Zeitoun, one of the city’s largest and most densely populated areas, was known for its busy markets, olive groves and tight-knit community.

Today, Zeitoun is unrecognisable. Entire blocks have been flattened, and homes have been reduced to rubble, leaving the neighbourhood devastated and its residents displaced.

Shujayea

Shujayea, whose Arabic name means "courage", is a neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City near the border with Israel.

It is one of the city’s largest and most densely populated areas, historically a residential and commercial hub with markets, schools and community centres.

Its location along the eastern edge of Gaza City has made it particularly vulnerable during military operations because it lies close to areas of intense Israeli bombardment and ground incursions.

Beit Lahiya

Just north of Gaza City in the North Gaza governorate, Beit Lahiya was once known for its fields of plump, juicy strawberries - locally called "red gold".

Israeli bulldozers and heavy machinery have razed these fields, reducing them to dirt.

Like most of northern Gaza, the humanitarian situation in Beit Lahiya is dire.

In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) hunger monitor declared a famine in northern Gaza as widespread hunger, starvation and displacement affected hundreds of thousands of people.

The crisis is projected to spread to central and southern Gaza by the end of September, according to the IPC.

Beit Hanoon

As of September, Beit Hanoon, located in North Gaza just south of Beit Lahiya and north of Gaza City, remains one of the most devastated areas in Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

The closure of the Beit Hanoon crossing with Israel, known as the Erez crossing in Israel, has further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, limiting the delivery of aid and hindering the movement of people.

Jabalia

The Israeli military has repeatedly hit the Jabalia neighbourhood, including the Jabalia refugee camp, the largest refugee camp in Gaza.

Established in 1948 for Palestinians displaced during the Nakba, or "catastrophe", during the creation of Israel, Jabalia is extremely densely populated.

The camp once housed three UN-run schools, which have been converted into shelters for hundreds of displaced families.