Updated Google Maps shows destruction of the city of Rafah

For comparison, here's Mosul in Iraq after the defeat of ISIS:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/15/world/middlee...

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-east/2016/11/01/battl...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mosul-satellite_n_596d34a3e4b...

Israeli here. Maybe I can give some helpful context.

Most people in Israel have not, and probably will not see this - any “support” for Palestinians is seen as a very far-left idea after Oct 7. There are still many here who oppose the extent of the war - I see regular demonstrations in Tel Aviv calling for peace. I will note that there seems to be fairly universal agreement that _something_ needed to be done after Oct 7. If you want to understand the Israeli perspective (doesn’t seem like most commenters do, but I’m not writing this for them), you have to look at how Oct 7 shaped Israeli society these last 3 years.

But anyways, don’t take my word for anything, pay attention to our upcoming elections. We will see how big the tents are then.

Wishing for peace, for saner voices to rise, and for an end to this cycle of violence.

There are Street View photos that look like they were taken from someone driving down one of the side streets so you can pretty much walk on it. You can see apartment buildings, local shops, people going about their day... It’s heart-wrenching to contrast that life with the current aerial view, with nothing but rubble and destruction.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/31%C2%B016'58.6%22N+34%C2%...

Its really telling to see the destruction limited to where the structures used to be rather than to all of the surrounding green spaces. If the destruction of civilian dwellings was purely an accident you'd expect to see the destruction spread evenly over the area. Instead it looks much more like a prolonged set of surgical strikes to destroy the buildings while preserving as much of the surrounding areas as possible.

For a great example of this, look at this pin https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA

And here's a pin of where the farms were spared https://maps.app.goo.gl/iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9

If you want to compare before and after:

https://earth.google.com/web/search/31%2e297226,+34%2e243649... - then click "show historical imagery" next to the search box.

I feel like the whole world would sympathise with Palestine much much more if they weren't governed by a terrorist group

The icons from what was there before are a haunting digital ghost. School, Restaurant, Pharmacy all the city is just rubble.

Atomic dome vibes when looking at some of the few buildings still standing

non-X Google Maps link to ~location of screenshot: https://www.google.com/maps/@31.2857778,34.2533333,1010m

It's sad that most world leaders do nothing to combat such genocide. There are so few sanctions against the state, or specific people, of Israel. Foreign forums are very much still open for business to them.

That is fine! Putin demolished many more Ukrainian cities, and still, there are Hamas leaders coming to Moscow to shake hands with him and Lavrov

jesus fucking christ

Another one to look at is the maps of Ukraine [0]

[0] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/google-maps-...

Sergey Brin, who founded and owns most of Google with Larry Page, said recently (during the genocide) that he visited Ben Shapiro (genocide advocate) and had fun. They show these things in Google Maps, but don't forget that Google is not a 'neutral' company in this conflict.

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