A Journalist Smuggled Out Aerial Photos Of Gaza From An Aid Airdrop, Exposing Israel’s Massive Destruction
The photos showed large-scale destruction everywhere, rubble, collapsed buildings, schools, mosques, a hotel, all destroyed.
A rare aerial shot smuggled out of Gaza has exposed the amount of destruction Israel has inflicted on the strip during more than 21 months of its genocide in Gaza.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has denied all international journalists from entering Gaza, and aerial photos were limited to satellite images or what Palestinian journalists on the ground were able to capture while Israel continued to target and kill them.
But now, photos taken by photojournalist Heidi Levine on Wednesday, July 30, during a Jordanian aircraft’s aid airdrop into Gaza showed an unprecedented amount of destruction, particularly above Gaza City.
The photos showed large-scale destruction everywhere, rubble, collapsed buildings, schools, mosques, a hotel, all destroyed.
One of the photos showed seven schools flattened to the ground by Israeli strikes: al-Zahawi Preparatory School for Boys, Asdood Secondary School for Boys, Abo Thar al-Ghafary School, Julis Secondary School for Boys, al-Awda Primary School, Sarafand Preparatory Male School and Samy al-Alamy Male School.
A zoomed-in image showed the ruins of the Jabalia refugee camp, where Israeli forces had mostly denied civil defense and paramedics access and from delivering food and water, with large swaths of the neighborhood demolished.
Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot Adel, who flew the aid drop mission, said he was shocked to see the “growing” destruction in comparison with when he last flew over Gaza during the first round of airdrops in 2024.
Approximately 60 to 70% of all structures in Gaza have sustained damage or have been destroyed due to Israel’s genocide, with Khan Yunis, the second-largest city in Gaza, nearly completely razed, with almost nothing but ruins.
During other airdrops, Sky News and BBC journalists who reported from the aid flights from Jordan said they were told that Israel had prohibited filming Gaza from above, adding that Israel could delay or cancel aid flights if its journalists filmed Gaza.
However, the Washington Post said Levine was given no such instructions before boarding the Royal Jordanian Air Force flight on Wednesday.
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