DRONE FOOTAGE: Gaza, before and after the war

Once home to crowded streets and neighbourhoods with boulevards, mosques and gardens, Gaza's cities are now flattened and covered in rubble.

The truce ending the 15-month-long conflict which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East, took effect on January 19, 2025 with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.

Now attention is starting to shift to the rebuilding of the coastal enclave which the Israeli military has demolished in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

That assault killed 1,200 people with around 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. In the subsequent conflict, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza's health ministry says.

Billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild Gaza after the war. A U.N. damage assessment released this month showed that clearing over 50 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel's bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion.

A U.N. report from last year, said rebuilding Gaza's shattered homes could take at least until 2040, but could drag on for many decades.

A U.N. Development Programme official said on Sunday that development in Gaza has been set back by 69 years as a result of the conflict.

(Production: Mohammed Salem, Bassam Masoud, Mahmoud Al-Basos, Mohammed Fayed, Kinda Makieh)